The Cleanskin impact structure, Northern Territory and Queensland, Australia: A reconnaissance study

Abstract

We report on the Cleanskin structure (18°10′00″S, 137°56′30″E), situated at the border between the Northern Territory and Queensland, Australia, and present results of preliminary geological fieldwork, microscopic analyses, and remote sensing. The Cleanskin structure is an eroded complex impact structure of ~15 km apparent diameter with a polygonal outline caused by two preexisting regional fault sets. The structure has a central uplift of ~6 km diameter surrounded by a rather shallow ring syncline. Based on stratigraphy, the uplift in the center may not exceed ~1000 m. The documentation of planar deformation features (PDFs), planar fractures (PFs), and feather features (FFs) in quartz grains from sandstone members of the Mesoproterozoic Constance Sandstone confirms the impact origin of the Cleanskin structure, as proposed earlier. The crater was most likely eroded before the Cambrian and later became buried beneath Cretaceous strata. We infer a late Mesoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic age of the impact event. In this chapter, the Cleanskin structure is compared with other midsized crater structures on Earth. Those with sandstone-dominated targets show structural similarities to the Cleanskin structure.