[Article déjà publié le 9 septembre 2024]
While planning his vacation in Quebec, a tourist spotted a strange geological formation on Google Maps. Usually what can be observed from the mapping service, or a fortiori since Google Earth, is not of much interest and sometimes serves to fuel certain conspiracy theories. However, this time, the tourist's find aroused the interest of researchers specializing in geosciences.
A hole discovered accidentally
When we talk about major scientific discoveries, we often think of researchers in white coats in laboratories behind their microscopes. And we are surely right in a lot of cases.
Others are the result of excavations directly on sites with high archaeological or paleontological potential. But, it is true that Google Maps is not one of the tools that we think of directly for making a geological discovery. This is the case of Joël Lapointe’s chance find in Quebec.
As reported by Canadian media CBC, the man who was planning a camping trip in northern Quebec discovered an astonishing geological formation. Indeed, during his exploration, from a distance, of the topology of the Canadian province, the tourist found an astonishing pit 15 kilometers in diameter at Lake Marsal.
photo credit: Google Earth – Gordon Osinski The topography of Lake Marsal in Quebec, revealing the hole discovered by Joël Lapointe
A possible meteorite impact
Joël Lapointe not being a geologist, he quickly turned to a specialist from the South of France, Pierre Rochette. The researcher from the Environmental Geosciences Research Center in Aix-en-Provence has since been dispatched to study this particular case.
The specialist was therefore able to analyze samples taken from the site and according to his results, it could be that the pit discovered by Joël Lapointe is an old meteorite impact crater. Indeed, by looking more closely at the chemical composition of samples from the area near Lake Marsal, he found several distinct minerals:
- silicates
- magnetite
- sulphides
- and zircons
According to Pierre Rochette, finding this type of mineral in this location could suggest that a meteorite crashed there. Especially since according to him, “examination of the topography is very revealing of an impact” he told CBC.
In addition to this, Pierre Rochette's team was also able to estimate the date of the impact. Indeed, according to information collected by IFLScience, the alleged meteorite which caused the impact of Lake Marsal in Quebec would have crashed between – 450 million years ago and -38 million years ago.
A gigantic time frame since it could very well have crashed and created the crater in present-day Quebec well before the appearance of the first dinosaurs or 30 million years after their extinction from the surface of the planet, or even during.
This is not the only impact crater in Quebec
According to preliminary analyzes carried out by Pierre Rochette's teams in Aix-en-Provence, the crater overlooking Lake Marsal would therefore have been caused by a meteorite.
The conditional is still appropriate because it is planned that the geologists will go to the site in order to lead an expedition and bring back perhaps even more convincing samples, in particular to further narrow the range of the age of the 'impact.
But according to their first conclusions “Lac Marsal is a serious candidate to become the 11th impact structure in Quebec”.
Based on interactive map data Impact Earth carried out by Professor Gordon Osinski of the Western University (London, Canada), the French-speaking region of Canada contains almost ⅓ of all meteorite impact craters discovered in the entire country of North America.
Perhaps during the future expedition to Quebec, the study of the composition of the possible meteorite will also give us some answers as to its origin.
Source: IFLScience / CBC
With an unwavering passion for local news, Christopher leads our editorial team with integrity and dedication. With over 20 years’ experience, he is the backbone of Wouldsayso, ensuring that we stay true to our mission to inform.
