Kardla - Hypervelocity Impact Crater

Alternate Names
Local Language
Coordinates 58° 58' 33" N; 22° 46' 44" E
Notes
  1. NE of Hiiumaa Island, Estonia.
Country Estonia
Region Hiiu
Date Confirmed 1992
Notes
  1. First mention of shock features are PDFs in quartz and probable shatter cones (Puura and Suuroja, 1992).
Buried? Yes
Notes
  1. Buried by up to 130 m of Quaternay sand, and filled with Ordovician dolomites, limestones and marls (Puura et al., 1989).
Drilled? Yes
Notes
  1. 300 holes within and outside the depression and the remaining rim area, penetrate Palaeozoic sedimentary cover and filling complex, allogenic breccia and into fractured crystalline gneisses (Puura and Suuroja, 1992).
Target Type Mixed
Notes
  1. Ordovician limestone, Lower Cambrian siltstones and sandstones and Proterozoic gneiss, granite and amphibolites (Puura et al., 1989). Shallow (~20 m deep) nearshore epiratonic sea at time of impact (Puura and Suuroja, 1993). Near shore.
Sub-Type Amphibolite, Gneiss, Limestone, Sandstone, Siltstone, Granite
Apparent Crater Diameter (km) 4 km
Age (Ma) ~455
Notes :
  1. Middle Ordovician and younger sediments cover the structure; age estimated to be Early Caradorian around 455 Ma (Puura et al., 1989) (Grahn et al., 1996).

Method :
  1. Stratigraphy
Impactor Type Unknown

Advanced Data Fields

Notes

Erosion
3
  1. Ejecta removed, vestiges of a rim remain and the crater-fill products are preserved (Puura and Suuroja, 1992). Impact debris found in sedimentary column up to 50 km away.
Final Rim Diameter
Unknown
Apparent Rim Diameter
4 km
  1. (Puura and Suuroja, 1992). Central peak diameter and height values from (Plado et al., 1996).
Rim Reliability Index
2
  1. Consists of a filled depression of breccia and sediments surrounded by a raised rim, all buried under sediments (Puura et al., 1989). Very small central uplift. Crater close to simple-complex transition.
Crater Morphology
Complex
Central Uplift Diameter
0.3km
Central Uplift Height
110 m
Uplift Reliability Index
Structural Uplift
Unknown
Thickness of Seds
0.14
Target Age
Precambrian Palaeozoic
Marine
Yes
Impactor Type
Other Shock Metamorphism
Planar features
  1. Planar features (up to 3 sets) in quartz (Puura and Suuroja, 1992)
Shatter Cones
Yes
  1. Conical fractures in the sandstone, limestone and claystone blocks in the slumped breccia, which probably are shatter cones (Puura and Suuroja, 1992). Shatter cones in sandstones and crystalline rocks (Suuroja et al., 2002).
Planar Fractures
Yes
  1. Quartz with PFs in samples (Table. 1; Kleesment et al., 2006). Microcline with planar fractures (PFs) and a ladder structure occasionally occurs in rocks, which also contain PDF-bearing quartz (Puura et al., 2004). Numerous clasts display evidence of shock metamorphism (planar fractures (PF) and PDFs in quartz and feldspar) (Suuroja et al., 2002). Impact breccias have PFs in quartz, plagioclase and microcline (Suuroja et al., 2002).
Planar Deformation Features
Yes
  1. Photomicrograph (crossed polars) of fluid inclusions in a quartz grain with three sets of PDFs in allochthonous breccia (Kirsimae et al., 2002). The most frequent PDF orientations in quartz are along the {1013} and {1012} planes (our unpublished data) (Kirsimae et al., 2002). Quartz with PDFs in multiple samples (Table. 1; Kleesment et al., 2006). Micrograph of PDFs in quartz (Fig. 3; Kleesment et al., 2006). Orientation of PDFs in quartz histogram (Fig. 4; Kleesment et al., 2006). PDFs in quartz were found predominantly in crystalline rock clasts of the granitoid dominated polymict breccia (Puura et al., 2004). Weakly developed PDFs were found in quartz grains from proximal ejecta (Puura et al., 2004). Distribution of PDF orientations in quartz, histogram (Fig. 5, Puura et al., 2004). Numerous clasts display evidence of shock metamorphism (planar fractures (PF) and PDFs in quartz and feldspar) (Suuroja et al., 2002). impact breccias have PDFs in quartz, plagioclase and microcline (Suuroja et al., 2002). Quartz grains with PDFs in many samples (Suuroja, S., and K. Suuroja, 2006). The most common orientations were {1013}, {1012} and {1011} (Suuroja and Suuroja, 2006).
Diaplectic Glass
Yes
  1. Diaplectic glass was not found (Deformation in quartz; Puura et al., 2004). Diaplectic glass from quartz, plagioclase and K-feldspar (Suuroja et al., 2002).
Coesite
No
Stisovite
No
Crater Fill
LB, MB
  1. (Puura and Suuroja, 1992) report 220 m of crater-fill lithic breccias observed in drill cores. They also report melting along the edges of some clasts (melt-bearing breccias?). Up to 14 m of lithic breccias outside the rim and lithic breccia as dykes in the crater floor are also reported.
Proximal Ejecta
LB
Distal Ejecta
Dykes
LB
Volume of Melt
Depth of Melting

References

Spot a missing reference? Submit Reference

L Ainsaar, M Semidor (1999) Long-term effect of the Kardla impact crater (Hiiumaa, Estonia) on the Middle Ordovician carbonate sedimentation, Berichte zur Polarforschung 343, Rainer Gersonde, Alexander Deutsch (ed.), p. 13-16, Kamloth, Bremerhaven, url

V Puura, A Karki, J Kirs, K Kirsimae, A Kleesment, M Konsa, M Niin, J Plado, K Suuroja, S Suuroja (2000) Impact-induced replacement of plagioclase by K-feldspar in granitoids and amphibolites at the Kardla crater, Estonia, Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences 91, Iain Gilmour, Christian Koeberl (ed.), p. 417-445, Springer-Verlag, Berlin-Heidelberg-New York, url

J Plado, J Pesonen, V Puura (2000) Gravity and magnetic modeling of a complex impact structure: Effect of deformation and erosion., STAR 38, Tartu Univ., Inst. of Geology, Tartu, Estonia: NASA, Suite 1M32, Washington, DC, 20546-0001, USA, [mailto:public-inquiries@hq.nasa.gov], [URL:http://www.nasa.gov], pdf

V Puura, A Karki, J Kirs, K Kirsimae, A Kleesment, M Konsa, K Suuroja (2000) Alteration of crater silicate rocks: Examples of dissimilar environments from Kardla and Manson structures, Catastrophic Events and Mass Extinctions - Impacts and Beyond; 01 Jan. 2000, p. 172-173, pdf

V Puura, A Karki, J Kirs, K Kirsimae, A Kleesment, M Konsa, K Suuroja, C Koeberl (2000) Alteration of crater silicate rocks: Examples of dissimilar environments from Kardla and Manson structures, LPI Contribution, p. 172-173, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX, pdf

V Puura, M Konsa, A Karki, J Kirs, J Plado, K Suuroja, P H Warren (2002) Estolites: Aggregates of magnetic intermetallic compounds in impact breccias, Meteoritics & Planetary Science 37(7, Suppl.), p. 120, Meteoritical Society, Fayetteville, AR

K Suuroja, S Suuroja, T All, T Flodén (2002) Kardla (Hiiumaa Island, Estonia): The buried and well-preserved Ordovician marine impact structure, Deep-Sea Research. Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 49(6), p. 1121-1144, Pergamon, Oxford, url, doi:10.1016/S0967-0645(01)00145-X

A Joeleht, K Kirsimae, E Versh, J Plado, B Ivanov (2003) Cooling of the Kardla impact crater: 2, impact and geothermal modelling., STAR 41(6), Tartu Univ., Inst. of Geology, Tartu, Estonia: NASA, Suite 1M32, Washington, DC, 20546-0001, USA, [mailto:public-inquiries@hq.nasa.gov], [URL:http://www.nasa.gov], url

E Versh, A Joeleht, K Kirsimae, J Plado, R Herrick, E Pierrazzo (2003) Cooling of the Kardla impact crater: 1, The mineral parasequence observations, LPI Contribution, p. 69, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX, url

E Versh, K Kirsimae, A Jaeleht, J Plado (2003) Impact induced hydrothermal system at Kardla crater: Development and biological consequences, Third International Conference on Large Meteorite Impacts; Nordlingen; Germany; 5-7 Aug. 2003, pdf

A Joeleht, K Kirsimae, E Versh, J Plado, B A Ivanov, R Herrick, E Pierrazzo (2003) Cooling of the Kardla impact crater: II, Impact and geothermal modelling, LPI Contribution, p. 41, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX, url

E Versh, K Kirsimae, A Joeleht, J Plado (2005) Cooling of the Kardla impact crater: 1, The mineral paragenetic sequence observation, Meteoritics & Planetary Science 40(1), p. 3-19, Meteoritical Society, Fayetteville, AR, url

A Joeleht, K Kirsimae, J Plado, E Versh, B A Ivanov (2005) Cooling of the Kardla impact crater: II, Impact and geothermal modeling, Meteoritics & Planetary Science 40(1), p. 21-33, Meteoritical Society, Fayetteville, AR

A Kleesment, M Konsa, V Puura, J Karhu, U Preeden, T Kallaste (2006) Impact-induced and diagenetic changes in minerals in the sandy ejecta of the Kardla Crater, NW Estonia, Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, Geology = Eesti Teaduste Akadeemia Toimetised, Geoloogia 55(3), p. 189-212, Estonian Academy Publishers, Tallinn

S Suuroja, K Suuroja (2006) Kardla impact (Hiiumaa Island, Estonia): Ejecta blanket and environmental disturbances, 10th workshop of the ESF IMPACT Programme on Biological processes associated with impact events, Charles S Cockell, Christian Koeberl, Iain Gilmour, Christian Koeberl (ed.), Springer, Berlin, url

A Joeleht, J Plado, I Tuuling, M Gaskov, K Rooni, A Tsyroulnikov (2007) Rim morphology of the Kardla crater based on reflection seismic investigations, Abstracts of Papers Submitted to the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 38, p. Abstract 1615, Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston, TX, pdf

A Joeleht, J Plado (2010) Architecture of the northeastern rim of the Kardla impact crater, Estonia, based on ground-penetrating radar studies, Special Paper - Geological Society of America 465, Roger L Gibson, Wolf Uwe Reimold (ed.), p. 133-140, Geological Society of America (GSA), Boulder, CO, url, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/2010.2465(09

A Jõeleht, J Plado, K Sarv (2018) Kärdla impact crater – transitional from simple to complex based on reflection seismics, EPSC Abstracts 12, pdf