The Lonar Crater-Some Geochemical Data

If the Lonar depression is a meteorite crater, a giant meteorite several-fold richer in nickel and cobalt than the basaltic country rock, should have produced localised enrichment of these metals. Weathering and secondary dispersion, aided by favourable centripetal drainage conditions, should have produced anomalous concentrations of the metals in plants, soil and silt at the site. This is not borne out by the average and below average values of the metals in geochemical samples from the crater area; and recent experimental sampling in the meteorite crater of Arizona also showed similar lack of anomalous metal values. The use of geochemical anomalies in recognising meteorite craters should, therefore, await investigations in other established craters.