BRAZIL. Sao Paulo. August 1, 2017.

Marie-Pierre Ledru, a scientist working for the French Institute of Research and Development, walks through a pristine section of Atlantic forest looking for plant samples inside the Colonia Crater, a recently confirmed impact crater located in the municipality of São Paulo, Brazil. Her research inside the crater is sponsored by the BNP Paribas Foundation.

The crater, a round bowl-shaped depression with a diameter of about 3.6 km, was formed between 1 million to 20 million years ago, in crystalline basement rocks 600 to 700 millions of years old. It is partially filled by turfaceous sediment with maximum depth of 275m, which provides a precious record of ancient environment.