Chicxulub Impact Crater Subsurface Microbial Cell Count Data

Cell count data from the Chicxulub crater was collected by the British Geological Survey under NERC grant NE/P006736/1. The data originates from core samples drilled to ~1.5 km depth in the crater's peak ring during IODP Expedition 364 in April-May 2016. It aims to quantify microbial biomass and correlate it with lithology in this 66 million-year-old impact structure.

Use Cases

• Correlating microbial biomass with subsurface lithology based on the described core sampling.
• Investigating how microbial abundance relates to impact-altered rock formations mentioned in the project goals.
• Modeling microbial recolonization of catastrophic environments based on the study's focus on life in impact craters.

Strengths

• Data is linked to a specific, well-defined geological site: the 66 million-year-old Chicxulub impact crater.
• Samples were collected with microbiological contamination control from a significant depth of ~1.5 km.
• Research context is clearly defined by a NERC grant (NE/P006736/1) and IODP Expedition 364.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

British Geological Survey (BGS)

Collection Method

Cell counts from microbiologically controlled core samples retrieved by IODP Expedition 364 drilling.

Time Range

Core samples collected in April-May 2016.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-09 08:40:47.982507; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Chicxulub impact crater, Gulf of Mexico.