Fried Egg structure
The Fried Egg is an informal name for an underwater geomorphic structure that is a suspected impact crater. This structure lies at a depth of 2 km (1.2 mi) and is about 150 km (93 mi) from the Azores archipelago.[1] It consists of a dome 300 meters (980 ft) high and 3 km (1.9 mi) in diameter that lies within a larger and roughly circular depression 110 meters (360 ft) deep and 6 km (3.7 mi) in diameter. It is this morphology on which its informal name is based.[2] Images that accompany media reports show the presence of a well-defined rim that surrounds the depression. These images also show a second but smaller circular depression, which also has a central peak, lying adjacent to the Fried Egg structure.[1]
This structure is less than 17 million years old as constrained by the age of the ocean floor of which it is a part. Based on its morphology and the absence of any obvious lava flows that can be seen in the multibeam echosounder bathymetric data, it is hypothesized that this structure is a possible oceanic impact crater.[2]
It was reported that the Fried Egg structure was first identified using data acquired during a 2008 multibeam echosounder hydrographic survey. It presence was confirmed during a research cruise from September to November of 2009. In addition, gravity and magnetic data were also acquired during the September 2009 research cruise and that a third expedition using remotely operated underwater vehicles to gather samples from this structure was planned.[1]
