This text was initially printed at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to House.com’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
Impact craters are fashioned when an object from house akin to a meteoroid, asteroid or comet strikes the Earth at a really excessive velocity. This leaves an excavated round gap on the Earth’s floor.
It’s a fundamental geological course of that has formed the planets from their formation to right now. It creates landscapes and floor supplies throughout our photo voltaic system. The moon is roofed with them, as are planets like Mercury, Mars and Venus. On Earth, impacts have influenced the evolution of life and even offered precious mineral and energy resources. Nevertheless, only a few of the impression craters on Earth are seen due to numerous processes that obscure or erase them.
Many of the acknowledged impression craters on Earth are buried underneath sediments or have been deeply eroded. Which means they now not protect their preliminary kinds.
The Bosumtwi impression crater in Ghana is completely different, nevertheless. It’s nicely preserved (not deeply eroded or buried underneath sediments). Its well-defined, near-circular basin, crammed by a lake, is surrounded by a outstanding crater rim that rises above the floor of the lake and an outer round plateau. This makes it a goal for a number of analysis questions.
As an Earth scientist, I joined a analysis group from 2019 to higher perceive the morphology of the crater. We carried out a morphological analysis of the crater (a research of its type, construction and geological options).
This research concluded that the actions of unlawful miners are a menace to the sustainability of the crater. We additionally found that the options of the Bosumtwi impression crater will be thought-about as a terrestrial illustration for a particular sort of impression crater generally known as rampart craters. These are frequent on the planets Mars and Venus and are discovered on icy our bodies of the outer photo voltaic system (like Ganymede, Europa, Dione, Tethys and Charon).
For future research, the Bosumtwi impression crater can be utilized to assist perceive how rampart craters type on Mars and Venus. So the Bosumtwi impression crater must be protected and preserved.
The crater
The Bosumtwi impact crater is in Ghana’s mineral-rich Ashanti gold belt. It’s the location of the one natural inland lake in Ghana. As one of many world’s best-preserved younger meteorite impression craters it’s designated as an Worldwide Union of Geological Sciences geoheritage site.
It’s one among solely 190 confirmed impression crater websites worldwide, one among solely 20 on the African continent. Its lake is one among six meteoritic lakes on the earth, acknowledged for his or her excellent scientific worth.
At virtually 1.07 million years previous, the crater presents unparalleled alternatives for finding out impact processes, climate history and planetary evolution. It’s an irreplaceable pure laboratory for researchers and educators.
Past its scientific significance, the crater holds cultural significance for the Ashanti individuals of Ghana. The lake at its centre serves as a sacred website and non secular landmark. The crater’s breathtaking panorama additionally helps eco-tourism and native livelihoods, contributing to Ghana’s financial growth whereas sustaining distinctive aesthetic worth.
The analysis
As a part of additional analysis work on the 2019 research, in 2025 we’ve found by discipline work and satellite tv for pc information evaluation that illegal artisanal mining is prevalent within the space and threatening the crater. This refers to casual, labour-intensive extraction of minerals, primarily gold. It’s carried out by people or small teams utilizing fundamental instruments and rudimentary equipment. The usage of poisonous chemical substances akin to mercury and cyanide, and practices akin to river dredging, trigger extreme environmental hurt.
Unlawful miners are encroaching on and across the crater rim, posing extreme threats to its atmosphere and sustainability. Their actions have turn out to be extra prevalent over the course of lower than 10 years, indicating a rising drawback. If unchecked, it might result in irreversible injury to the crater.
These mining operations threat contaminating the lake with poisonous heavy metals. The implications of those are grave. They embody destroying vital geological proof, accelerating deforestation, and degrading the land. All this damages the crater’s scientific, cultural and financial worth.
The Worldwide Union of Geological Sciences geoheritage designation of the crater underscores the pressing want for defense measures. The lack of this uncommon geological surprise would signify not only a nationwide tragedy for Ghana, however a blow to world scientific heritage.
Quick motion is required. This contains enhanced satellite tv for pc monitoring (monitoring unlawful mining, deforestation and environmental adjustments) utilizing optical imagery (akin to Sentinel-2, Landsat, PlanetScope). These instruments can detect forest loss, determine mining pits and sediment runoff, and analyse adjustments over time.
Stricter enforcement of mining bans, and group engagement programmes, will assist protect the Bosumtwi impression crater’s distinctive attributes for future generations of scientists, college students, vacationers and native communities who rely upon its sources.
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