The impact hypothesis as a mechanism for the origin of the Amazon basin - analysis of antipodal impacts of celestial bodies and their impact on global morphotectonics

Robert Jan Kütz

The Amazon Basin is the largest fluvial system on Earth, yet its central subsidence and asymmetrical drainage pattern remain partially unexplained by traditional geological models. This study introduces a novel impact-based hypothesis, proposing that the Amazon depression is a result of tectonic deformation at the intersection of seismic shockwaves originating from two major planetary impacts: the Chicxulub impact in the Yucatán Peninsula (~66 Ma) and a hypothesized earlier impact near the Mariana Trench. The work explores the possibility of large-scale antypodal amplification of seismic energy and interference effects as mechanisms for continental-scale deformation. Using geoinformatics tools (ArcGIS, GPlates), topographic and gravimetric data (SRTM, GEBCO, GRACE), and comparative planetary analogs (Mars, Mercury, Moon), the study outlines a synthetic geodynamic model explaining the origin of the Amazon Basin as a post-impact geostructure. The findings suggest a need to reevaluate the role of extraterrestrial forces in shaping Earth’s major geological features and offer a new interdisciplinary research direction integrating impact geology, geophysics, and tectonics.