Objective The role of impact cratering in the evolution of Earth’s geosphere and biosphere is greatly underappreciated in the field of modern geoscience. Although years of research on terrestrial impact craters have contributed greatly to our knowledge of impact cratering processes and products, the available geochronological data represents a major and fundamental gap in our knowledge. Of the ca. 190 confirmed impact craters on Earth only ca. 10 % are considered to be accurately and precisely dated. Consequently, the vast majority of terrestrial craters cannot be correlated with each other or with other geological events such as mass extinctions. Here we propose to take timely advantage of recent advances both in our understanding of how the mineral zircon (ZrSiO4) can record the age of an impact event and in the analytical techniques used to determine such U-Pb ages to significantly and efficiently grow our database of accurately and precisely dated terrestrial impact craters. Specifically, this project will focus on craters whose precise formation age may have broad implications for Earth’s history. Among others, these include the Siljan impact crater, Sweden, which has been proposed as a contributing factor to the late Devonian mass extinction event, one of the largest mass extinctions in the Phanerozoic, and the Suavjärvi impact crater, northwest Russia. The latter has a very poorly constrained age of between 2.7 and 2.2 Ga but is likely to be the oldest impact crater on Earth with confirmation of an impact age in this study. This innovative action will couple recent advances in microstructural characterisation of shocked zircon (EBSD analysis and Raman mapping) with cutting-edge U-Pb analytical techniques not previously applied to shocked grains (including high resolution, fully quantitative U-Pb age mapping by SIMS and high precision multiple step leaching CA-ID-TIMS) and establish efficient protocols for future dating of craters on Earth and other planetary bodies. Fields of science natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesdatabasesnatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesgeologygeochronologyhumanitieshistory and archaeologyhistoryagricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagriculturegrains and oilseedsnatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesmeteorologybiosphera Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Main Programme H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility Topic(s) MSCA-IF-2017 - Individual Fellowships Call for proposal H2020-MSCA-IF-2017 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF Coordinator NATURHISTORISKA RIKSMUSEET Net EU contribution € 173 857,20 Address Frescativägen 40 SE 114 18 Stockholm Sweden See on map Region Östra Sverige Stockholm Stockholms län Activity type Research Organisations Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 173 857,20