The Atmosphere is Full of Carbon Because of the Asteroid Impact
The history
The impact with a 10-kilometer-long asteroid triggered earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis in the chain, according to scientists. The meteorite collapsed at such a high rate that the rock in the impact area was vaporized and projected to high heights in the atmosphere where it condensed to form small particles called “spheres.”
These spheres that fell back to Earth were rubbed by the air molecules, becoming hot enough to trigger vegetation fires all over the globe. A thin layer of spheres that have fallen on Earth can be seen just above the geological layers of that time.
This made two-thirds of all species from fossil history disappearing. The event was called the Cretaceous-Paleogenic Extinction Event and only after the discovery of the Chicxulub Crater in 1978 scientists started to research.
Most of the large terrestrial animals in Mesozoic died immediately after the impact, “but marine animals and those that could hide in underground lakes or that could remain underwater for longer periods could have survived.
Now the carbon dioxide that filled up the atmosphere increases the temperature on the Earth by 5 degrees Celsius (9 degrees Fahrenheit). It is not known how much it will take for the Planet to recover completely from this impact. So, this is practically responsible for the global warmth.
Studies are still being made
There were 40 samples from Tunisia’s site, analyzed by the researchers. 10 belonged to the period before the impact – 50,000 years before, 20 samples were from 100,000 years after and the rest 10 samples were from the next 200,0000 years. The oxygen isotopes were different. The researchers look at the fossils on the other parts of the Earth to compare the results. Something is certain: the global warmth definitely changed.
As our second lead editor, Anna C. Mackinno provides guidance on the stories Great Lakes Ledger reporters cover. She has been instrumental in making sure the content on the site is clear and accurate for our readers. If you see a particularly clever title, you can likely thank Anna. Anna received a BA and and MA from Fordham University.
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