After 66 million years, researchers have made the groundbreaking discovery that the extinction of the dinosaurs was not solely caused by one asteroid strike as previously assumed. The finding sheds new light on the catastrophic event that wiped out the dinosaurs and over half of all life on Earth. The impact of the six-mile-long asteroid 66 million years ago created a 124-mile-wide crater beneath the Gulf of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, and it had long been believed to be the sole culprit in the mass extinction.
However, recent research by scientists at Scotland’s Heriot-Watt University has unveiled evidence of a second asteroid that hit Earth around the same time. The team has revealed new three-dimensional images of a crater formed by this second asteroid, located off the coast of West Africa. The 5-mile-wide Nadir Crater was discovered nearly a thousand feet below the Atlantic Ocean’s floor, with seismic data confirming its origins.
Dr. Uisdean Nicholson, a member of the research team, described the significance of the findings, stating, “It reveals this crater in three dimensions for the first time – the first time we’ve ever been able to see inside an impact crater.” The study detailing this discovery was published in the journal Nature Communications Earth & Environment.
The researchers explain that craters can be challenging to locate due to erosion and burial over time. The unique data provided by TGS, a global geophysical company, allowed the team to identify various characteristics of the crater, including its rim and brim structure. The asteroid that created the Nadir Crater would have been over 1,300 feet wide, making it a significant cosmic event.
Nicholson highlighted the immense impact such an asteroid strike would have had on Earth, likening it to a fireball 24 to 25 times the size of the sun. The resulting explosion would have dwarfed the 2022 volcanic eruption in Tonga and triggered a series of tsunamis, along with a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. Despite the devastating effects, this second asteroid’s energy release pales in comparison to the Mexican “Chicxulub” asteroid responsible for the dinosaurs’ extinction.
Looking ahead, the researchers plan to further study how the asteroid’s energy impacted the area and to gather samples from the ocean floor for analysis. The availability of 3D data marks a significant advancement in understanding these ancient cosmic events, allowing researchers to delve deeper into Earth’s history.
Nicholson compared the new 3D images to advanced medical scans, illustrating the leap in understanding provided by this technology. This discovery challenges the long-held belief in a single asteroid responsible for the demise of the dinosaurs, presenting a more complex narrative of the catastrophic event that reshaped life on Earth.