Mahuika crater facts for kids
The Mahuika crater is a huge underwater hole. Scientists believe it might be an impact crater. This means it could have been formed by a comet or asteroid hitting the Earth. The crater is about 20 kilometers (12 miles) wide. It is also more than 153 meters (500 feet) deep! You can find it on the ocean floor near New Zealand. It is south of a place called The Snares. The crater is named after Mahuika, the Māori god of fire. But not everyone agrees on how it was formed.
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How the Mahuika Crater Was Found
The Mahuika crater was first reported by a scientist named Dallas Abbott. She worked with her team at Columbia University. They found clues in an ice core taken from Antarctica.
Clues from Ice Cores
An ice core is like a long tube of ice. It holds layers of snow and ice that built up over many years. These layers can trap tiny bits of dust, chemicals, and even fossils. Dallas Abbott and her team found unusual things in an ice core from Siple Dome. These included strange elements, tiny fossils, and minerals. They thought these clues came from a space object hitting Earth.
When Did the Impact Happen?
Based on these clues, some scientists believe the impact that made the Mahuika crater happened around 1443 AD. However, other scientists think it happened later, on February 13, 1491 AD.
Possible Tsunami and Oral Traditions
Some ideas suggest that this impact caused a huge tsunami. A tsunami is a giant ocean wave. It is believed that Aboriginal Australians might have seen this tsunami. They may have even passed down stories about it through their oral traditions.
Debate About the Crater's Origin
Not all scientists agree that the Mahuika crater was made by a space impact. In 2010, a scientific paper was published in a journal called Marine Geology. This paper looked closely at the claims made by Dallas Abbott.
No Evidence of a Comet Impact
The researchers in the 2010 study found no clear proof that a comet created the crater. Because of this, they believe it is very unlikely that an impact caused a tsunami. The debate about how the Mahuika crater formed continues among scientists.
