Fried Egg structure

The Fried Egg is an informal name for an underwater geomorphic structure in the North Atlantic that is a suspected impact crater. This structure is at a depth of 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) and is about 150 km (93 mi) south of the Azores archipelago.[2] It consists of a dome 300 meters (980 feet) high and 3 km (1.9 mi) in diameter that lies within a larger and roughly circular depression 110 m (360 ft) deep and 6 km (3.7 mi) in diameter. It is this morphology on which its informal name is based.[3] 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.[2][4]

Fried Egg structure

Location in the Atlantic Ocean
Impact crater/structure
Confidence	Potential[1]
Diameter	3 km (1.9 mi)
Depth	110 m (360 ft)
Rise	300 m (980 ft)
Age	<17 Ma Neogene
Exposed	No
Drilled	No
Location
Coordinates	36°48′N 26°30′W[1]
Country	Portugal
State	Azores

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.[3]

It was reported that the Fried Egg structure was first identified using data acquired during a 2008 multibeam echosounder hydrographic survey. Its presence was confirmed during a research cruise from September to November 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.[2]