WHITECOURT CRATER

Abstract

The other recently discovered and wellpreserved meteorite impact crater is the late Holocene impact structure near Whitecourt in Canada. The structure was recognized as a meteorite impact crater in 2007 after local residents contacted University of Alberta Earth and Atmospheric Sciences professor Chris Herd with metallic fragments which were being found around a depression believed to be a sinkhole in a wooded area 17 km southeast of Whitecourt (Herd et al. 2008). Herd and his team subsequently used LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) imagery originally applied in the forest industry to locate the structure. The 3D aerial imagery was purchased by the university from Airborne Imaging, before it was used to precisely map the topography of the crater. While the initial LiDAR images naturally showed the surface covered by forest, the university team used special computer imaging software to remove the obstructing trees in order to reveal the crater beneath (Smith 2008).