New technologies are continuously being developed that can aid us in archaeological research. The purpose of this project is to revisit an area containing Late Iron Age (LIA) Stone Walled Structures (SWS) that have received sporadic archaeological research over time, and employ new techniques and technologies to test/re-evaluate previous findings. This involves developing new mapping techniques, which involve the use of Geographical Positioning Systems (GPS), which allowed for a wide survey/mapping exercise in a time effective and budget conscious manner. From these data, a new typology was created in order to reflect new types as well as further segregate exiting types. The resulting data was analysed in a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) environment, allowing us to tackle issues such as spatial distribution and landscape patterns in a digital environment. This analysis allowed us to re-evaluate the original spatial distribution, looking at possible reasons for the inaccuracies in the original study. We then explore the implications of these new data. We tested the results of these analyses based on proposed scenarios for the location of these sites, in order to try better understand the positioning, as we as identify possible diagnostic sites that can undergo further examination.

Thesis (doctoral)--University of Tartu, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Orientadores: Alvaro Penteado Crosta, Alfonso Schrank / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Geociencias / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-13T07:15:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Vieira_CesarKazzuo_M.pdf: 40895435 bytes, checksum: 81127eb9905b1b18af114978ccbf891d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Resumo: O Domo de Vargeão (SC), com 12,4km de diâmetro, é uma estrutura de impacto do tipo complexa parcialmente erodida, formada sobre os derrames vulcânicos da Formação Serra Geral, na bacia do Paraná. Em seu interior afloram, de forma anômala, arenitos atribuídos ás formações Botucatu e Pirambóia, normalmente situados a cerca de 1km abaixo da superfície atual. O objetivo principal deste estudo foi a caracterização geológica e geofísica do Domo de Vargeão, em superfície e em subsuperfície, por meio da integração de dados de sensoriamento remoto e geofísicos com informações geológicas em escala regional (1:250.000) e local (1:50.000) A análise dos dados aeromagnetométricos e sísmicos permitiram: (i) classificar o Domo de Vargeão como uma estrutura de expressão crustal rasa, com indicação da existência de uma zona de intensa deformação situada abaixo da mesma; (ii) associar o alto magnético associado com o núcleo da estrutura à ocorrência de brechas de impacto do tipo pseudotaquilíticas; e (iii) associar a zona anelar de baixo magnético, localizada próxima às bordas da estrutura, à ocorrência de blocos da unidade Ácidas Chapecó. A integração dos dados aeromagnetométricos com os de sensoriamento remoto (SRTM, Landsat/ETM+, Terra/ASTER, Radarsat-1) e geológicos revelaram a existência de um complexo sistema de falhas normais associado à borda da estrutura de Vargeão, que causou o basculamento de grandes blocos da unidade Ácidas Chapecó para o interior da estrutura. A análise dos dados geológicos permitiu: (i) a delimitação espacial das ocorrências de zonas de brechas no interior da estrutura e sua caracterização como brechas com material fundido (melt-fragment breccia); (ii) a identificação de feições típicas de metamorfismo de impacto que incluem a ocorrência de shatter cones em arenitos e basaltos e feições planares de deformação (PDFs) em grãos de quartzo; e (iii) a mensuração da direção cristalográfica preferencial dos PDFs segundo os planos (0001), {11¯11} e {11¯12}. Em conclusão, o Domo de Vargeão representa um notável e raro exemplo de estrutura de impacto complexa formada em rochas básicas e ácidas. O grau de exposicão e fácil acesso aos afloramentos rochosos em seu interior tornam esta estrutura um sítio potencial para a realização de estudos de análogos em processos de evolução das superfícies planetárias, que podem contribuir para o entendimento da evolução de corpos planetários sólidos como a Lua, Marte e Vênus, entre outros. / Abstract: Domo de Vargeão (SC), with a diameter of 12.4km, is a partially eroded complex impact structure formed on the lava flows of the Serra Geral Formation in the Paraná Basin. The anomalous occurrence of sandstones in its interior is related to the presence of the Botucatu and Pirambóia formations, uplifted from their regular stratigraphic level, sitting at approximately 1 km below the present surface. The objective of this study comprises the geologic and geophysical characterization of the Domo de Vargeão using remote sensing, geophysical and geological data integration, on a regional (1:250.000) and local (1:50.000) scale. Magnetic and seismic data analysis allowed: (i) to interpret it as shallow structure, with a strongly deformed zone underneath; (ii) to associate the magnetic high at the center of the structure to the occurrence of melt-fragment breccia; (iii) to associate the annular magnetic low located near the rim of the structure to the occurrence of large blocks of the Ácidas Chapecó unit. The integration of magnetic and remote sensing data (SRTM, Landsat/ETM+, Terra/ASTER, Radarsat-1) with geologic information unveiled a complex system of normal faults associated with the rim of Domo de Vargeão, responsible for the collapse of the blocks of Ácidas Chapecó towards the interior of the structure. The geologic data allowed: (i) to map the area of occurrence breccias and to characterize them as pseudotachylitic breccias; (ii) to identify and characterize impact features such as shatter cones in basalt and sandstone, and planar deformation features (PDFs) in quartz grains; and (iii) to measure the crystallographic direction of the PDFs along planes (0001), {11¯11} and {11¯12}. In conclusion, Domo de Vargeão constitutes a rare example on Earth of a complex impact structure formed in basic and acidic volcanic rocks. Its good exposure and easy access makes this impact structure potentially important for conducting analogous studies of planetary surfaces, thus helping to understand the evolutionary processes of solid bodies such as the Moon, Mars, Venus, among others. / Mestrado / Geologia e Recursos Naturais / Mestre em Geociências

The Siljan Ring in Dalarna, Sweden is the site of the largest meteor impact crater in Europe and has long been a topic of discussion regarding methane production. However, the source of this methane and the timing of production in relation to the impact remain unclear. An outcrop of red Ordovician limestone preserved on the edge of a downfaulted zone encircling the crater’s central plateau is crosscut by fractures surrounded by pale-coloured reduction haloes within which precipitates can be observed. These haloes suggest interaction with a reducing agent mobilised within a fluid flow, of which methane would be a prime candidate. A field study was subsequently undertaken to establish the reaction whereby these haloes were formed, as well as the timing of their formation relative to the Siljan impact based upon petrological, geochemical, and structural data obtained in the field. Results from this study show that a methane-bearing hydrothermal fluid mobilised within the fractures has preserved the original mineralogy of the limestone within the reaction haloes whilst the country rock beyond was being oxidised. Pyrite is shown to be preserved within the pale reaction haloes, whilst its oxidation within the country rock is shown to be the source of the limestone’s distinct red colouring. Fracture and bedding orientation at the study site suggest the hydrothermal event to have been simultaneous with the meteor impact, with the fractures forming part of a wider complex network of impact features. Whilst mobilisation associated with the meteor impact is a likely cause of methane release, the exact source of the methane active at the study site is unclear.

Abstract Impact cratering is a fundamental geomorphic process on planetary surfaces. More than 60% of known hypervelocity impact craters on Earth are either partially or completely buried beneath post-impact sediments and one-third have been discovered with geophysical methods. In this thesis, geophysical surveys (gravity, magnetics, seismic, bathymetric mapping) were conducted at the deeply buried (>400 m) Holleford impact crater (~2.35 km) and two probable impact structures (Charity Shoal, Skeleton Lake) in southern Ontario, Canada. 3-D potential field models were constructed to determine the subsurface geology and buried crater morphology, and to evaluate evidence for possible impact versus endogenic origins. Holleford Crater is a deeply buried, Late Proterozoic-Early Cambrian (ca. 550 ±100 Ma) simple impact crater (~2.4 km) in southeastern Ontario, Canada. Land-based magnetic and gravity surveys and modelling were conducted in this study, recorded a ~ -3 mGal Bouguer anomaly and small (~30 nT) magnetic anomaly over the crater basin. 3-D gravity modelling revealed a deeply buried simple impact basin in Mesoproterozoic basement with an estimated rim-to-rim diameter (D) of 1.8-2 km, a residual rim height of ~20-30 m and true depth (dt) >400 m. The southeast crater rim is dissected by a 150 m deep, 400 m wide erosional channel produced by fluvial rim dissection. The outflow is infilled by >50 m of Late Cambrian clastic sediments, indicating a probable Late Proterozoic to Early Paleozoic impact event. Charity Shoal is a 1.2-km-diameter, 20 m deep, circular bedrock shoal in eastern Lake Ontario. Marine seismic profiling and total field magnetic surveys (140-line km) were conducted over a 9-km2 area and combined with available multi-beam bathymetric data to evaluate the subsurface geology and structure origin. Seismic surveys revealed ~30 m of Quaternary sediments overlying Middle Ordovician (Trenton Group) carbonates in the central basin and evidence for folding and faulting of the structure rim. Magnetic surveys recorded an annular magnetic high (> 600 nT) and a central magnetic low (~500-600 nT) coincident with a ~-1.7 mGal Bouguer gravity anomaly. The continuity of Middle Ordovician bedrock below the structure rules out a post-Paleozoic intrusion and a pre-Paleozoic intrusion is ruled out with the gravity anomaly. A deeply-buried (> 450 m) impact crater is the only scenario consistent with geophysical evidence. The crater has a rim-to-rim diameter of ~1.2 km, and rim height of ~15-20 m. A 100-m wide breach in the southwestern rim records a possible outflow channel. Skeleton Lake is a suspected (~4.0 km) Paleozoic-age impact structure in Muskoka, Ontario. The lakebed morphology, subsurface structure and possible impact origin were investigated with high-resolution geophysical surveys (magnetics, bathymetry; ~140 line-km) and 3-D magnetic modelling. Bathymetric data reveal a deep (>65 m) central basin with arcuate (Paleozoic?) bedrock ridges that rise >30 m above the southwestern lakebed. Magnetic surveys recorded a >700 nT magnetic low, which truncates northwest-southeast regional magnetic trends. Low-amplitude, northwest-trending magnetic lineaments delineate basement shear zones below the basin centre. Through-going magnetic lineaments and lack of thermal alteration (e.g., dikes, fenitization) in Mesoproterozoic rocks indicate a volcanic origin is unlikely. A 1.2 km diameter volcanic plug with an Early Cambrian remanence (D = 82.2°, I = 82.7°) can reproduce some aspects of the magnetic anomaly but is at odds with the Bouguer gravity anomaly (~ -3 mGal). Forward modelling of a crater-form basin with induction and remanence magnetization yielded an estimated structure depth of ~1200 m. The basement surface model shows a complex basement topography with no apparent rim structure and elevated ‘pinnacles’ that may represent eroded remnants of a central uplift or a highly-dissected basement topography. The structure apparent diameter (> 4.2 km) and complex basement topography suggest a heavily-modified transitional crater, similar with the Gow (Saskatchewan, Canada) and Kärdla (Estonia) impact structures. This thesis demonstrates the subsurface exploration of confirmed and suspected impact structures, integrating seismic, potential field (magnetics, gravity) and digital elevation data within a 3-D geophysical modelling workflow. The approach provides important new insights into the surface and subsurface geology, morphology, and post-emplacement modification of the Holleford impact crater, and new geophysical constraints for evaluating two suspected impact structures. Geophysical data confirm that Charity Shoal and Skeleton Lake are deep-seated, crater-form depressions in Mesoproterozoic basement rocks. The weight of geophysical and geological evidence points to impact cratering processes as opposed to an endogenic (volcanic) origin for both structures. / Thesis / Doctor of Science (PhD)

Title from PDF of title page. / Document formatted into pages; contains 558 pages. / Original thesis submitted in HTML and can be accessed at http://www.lib.usf.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-10122001-142859/unrestricted/frame.html / td.pdf / Thesis (M.S.)--University of South Florida, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references. / Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. / ABSTRACT: The Gatun Structure, (Latitude N 09° 05&softsign; 58.1", Longitude W 79° 47&softsign; 21.8", situated in the triple-canopy rainforest 10 km to the WSW of the Gamboa and about 2 km south of the Isle of Barbacoas, Republic de Panama), is a partially inundated, quasi-concentric surface feature 2.2 - 3km in diameter, which appears in aerial photographs and in radar imagery as an arcuate chain of islands with a raised center. Although the structure has been heavily weathered and altered, it has retained morphology consistent with complex craters: an elevated circular central uplift 500-600 m in diameter and 50m high, and arcuate boundary ridges (a rim structure?) ranging from 50-100 meters high. Within the central peak, highly altered and fractured siltstone of the Gatuncillo (?) formation (Eocene) (+-) older rocks are uplifted and exposed through surrounding calcareous units of the Caimito formation (Oligocene) and the Las Cascadas formation (Miocene), the major target rocks in the region. / ABSTRACT: Lithologies in the structure include highly fractured siliciclastic rocks (siltstone, sandstones and greywackes), limestones with anomalous spherical glass inclusions, both black and white hypocrystalline glasses (possible melt rocks), lithic fragmental breccias, and melt-bearing breccias (possible impact melt breccias and suevites), some of which contain flow banding and evidence for selective melting of minerals. Three types of spherules (glass, fluid-drop and lithic), a pyroxene-quartz "necklace" disequilibrium structure (coronas), plagioclase feldspars exhibiting mosaicism and partially amorphization, possible liquid immiscibility between melts of calcite and felpspathic glass, as well as decomposition of titanomagnite or ulvospinel, are all petrographic indicators of a hypervelocity impact event. / ABSTRACT: The structure is crosscut by numerous dikes of unshocked basalt and basaltic andesite related to volcanism along the Panamanian segment of the Central American arc to the south. However, the lithologies of the Gatun Structure are chemically inconsistent with the regional volcanic rocks and the unshocked volcanic rocks that crosscut the structure. The lack of an igneous relationship between the Gatun structure and the explosive volcanism of Panamanian arc the presence of classical shock lithologies within the site, and the occurrence of spherules, maskelynite and other disequilibrium shock features in the rocks, an impact origin is our preferred interpretation for the Gatun structure. / System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader. / Mode of access: World Wide Web.