Asteroid impacts and cascading hazards

Timothy N. Titus; D. G. Robertson; Joel B. Sankey; Larry G. Mastin

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USGS · 70242056

Asteroid impacts and cascading hazards

Timothy N. Titus·D. G. Robertson·Joel B. Sankey·Larry G. Mastin

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Abstract

The initial effects from an asteroid impact are generally well characterized and include thermal radiation and blast waves. If the impactor is sufficiently large, either an earthquake or tsunami can also result, depending on whether the impact occurs over land or water. However, the longer-term effects that extend beyond the area initially affected are less well characterized. Because regional effects not only depend on the size of the impactor, but also on the location and timing of the event, case studies of impact events in various regions should be conducted to better understand how asteroid impact induced cascading hazards may vary. For this study, we use the initial impact effects from an 800-m asteroid strike at two locations: Dallas, TX, USA and Jebba, Nigeria. A detailed analysis of the regional impacts on Texas and Nigeria will be presented at the time of the conference.

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Timothy N. Titus, D. G. Robertson, Joel B. Sankey, Larry G. Mastin. 2023. Asteroid impacts and cascading hazards. https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/70242056

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