BOMBARDED BRITAIN
A Search for British Impact Structures

by Richard Stratford (INSPEC, UK)

This book describes a search for geological evidence of meteorite impact structures in Britain. The statistics of impact structures indicate that Britain should have Phanerozoic impact structures up to tens of kilometres in diameter. A constant theme is the importance of atmospheric break-up of small asteroids and comets. These fragmenting bodies produce anomalously shallow craters with low rims and central peaks; three British structures of this type are identified.

Analysis of fireball statistics implies that damaging fireball explosions occur over the British Isles on a time-scale of decades. On a time-scale of millennia, however, more damage is done by Atlantic impact tsunami.

 
Contents:
  • Impacts and Geology:
    • A Curious Omission
    • Of Calculations and Craters
    • The Search for Impact Structures
    • The Shetland Craters
    • Midlands Geology
    • The Ashby Inlier
    • Charnwood Forest
    • The Midlands Basin — A Cometary Impact Structure?
    • The Herefordshire Domes
    • The Rochford Basin — A Digression into Essex
    • Fuller's Earth and Bagshot Sands — A Surrey Crater?
    • Gabbro, Granite, and Grampians
    • Other Circular Structures
  • Impacts in History:
    • Small Craters, Airbursts, and Tsunami
    • Dozmary Pool and Other Craterlets
    • Levin–Bolt and Blast
    • British Atlantis?
 
Readership: Upper level undergraduates and post-graduate students in geology and planetary science.
 
“In his search for bombarded Britain, the author delivers a master class in impact and air blast processes … I believe that Bombarded Britain is going to make an impact.”
Astronomy Now
 
220pp    Pub. date: Jul 2004  
ISBN:   978-1-86094-356-0
1-86094-356-X
   US$80 / £63