The formation of a giant collapse caprock sinkhole on the Barda Negra plateau basalts (Argentina): Magnetic, mineralogical and morphostructural evidences

The 1.5-km-wide, 40-m-deep, crater-like structure in the 10 Ma old Barda Negra basaltic plateau in Central Argentina was discovered in the early 2000s. Based on remote sensing surveys and on its morphological characteristics, similar to those of the Barringer crater in Arizona, the structure is described to be originated by an impact. In this study we ran several field work campaigns and collected and analysed samples, in order to find more evidences to endorse or reject this hypothesis.