A researcher will be flying to a remote NWT lake, near the Nunavut border, to investigate the crater left behind by an asteroid 389 million years ago.

University of New Brunswick graduate student Maree McGregor will fly by floatplane to Nicholson Lake from Flin Flon, Man., stopping at a fishing lodge on Mosquito Lake before arriving at Nicholson Lake, which will be her home for three weeks.

SA国际影视传媒�(WeSA国际影视传媒檙e) trying to be minimal,SA国际影视传媒� says McGregor, SA国际影视传媒渙bviously being prepared for the weather and food-wise.

SA国际影视传媒淎lso, probably trying to get access to a gun licence,SA国际影视传媒� she said with a laugh, noting she hopes not to have to use it, but itSA国际影视传媒檒l be her first time in grizzly bear country.

While plans are still being finalized, she will be joined by at least one other person while collecting data around the lake by foot, canoe and Zodiac to get an idea of the extent of the crater and ascertain what its remnants say about the effect such impacts have on the land.

SA国际影视传媒淲eSA国际影视传媒檙e just really trying to obtain as much information as we can structurally to how the crater is because no detailed mapping has been done before,SA国际影视传媒� says McGregor, SA国际影视传媒渁nd also, analyzing the samples to find out what sort of shock features are in there and how that relates to the impact cratering process.SA国际影视传媒�

This research is part of a bigger project McGregor is working on, for her PhD thesis, dating impact craters to get an idea of how often such impacts happen SA国际影视传媒� data that could help us mitigate future asteroid strikes. McGregor, herself, was the one who pinpointed the date of the Nicholson strike.

SA国际影视传媒淚SA国际影视传媒檝e been doing a lot of geological dating, dating several impact craters with Nicholson being one of them, because a lot of them arenSA国际影视传媒檛 well constrained (into a specific date) so we donSA国际影视传媒檛 know how often impact events do happen, though we do know that itSA国际影视传媒檚 considerably less compared to early on in the solar system.SA国际影视传媒�

McGregorSA国际影视传媒檚 trip is funded through the Shoemaker Impact Cratering Award, a prestigious international endowment in the field of planetary geology.

SA国际影视传媒淚t has not been visited since the 1960s and no studies have been undertaken since,SA国际影视传媒� she stated in a release sent out by her university. SA国际影视传媒淭here are many intriguing geological features, including impact melts and rare and unusual shock-modified minerals.SA国际影视传媒�