Scientists are investigating a mysterious underwater crater recently discovered in Africa – teach me about science

66 million years ago, an event changed the course of the Earth as it was known, because what seemed to be an ordinary day ended with the mass extinction of 75% of the species of plants and animals that inhabited at the time, among the mighty animals were dinosaurs.

The asteroid Chicxulub (Devil’s Tail) collided with Earth, hitting the Yucatan Peninsula, southern Mexico; It formed a diameter of 14 kilometers, destroying everything in its path, a fact that completely changed the conditions of the planet.

according to Container This asteroid left a crater 180 km wide and 900 meters deep.

The impact of the asteroid reached dire consequences, as for a year after its contact with the Earth, the greenhouse effect was generated by the dense cloud of ash that remained around the planet, which prevented sunlight from penetrating, and thus the temperature dropped dramatically, which caused the greenhouse effect thermal. glaciation; The plant species could not perform photosynthesis and died, leaving the Chicxulub survivors without food.

It was these extreme conditions that led to the extinction of thousands of species, however, this event was decisive in the history of the blue planet, giving way to the evolution of species, giving rise to our existence, since many animals are no longer. Dinosaurs were their predators. Which preferred that they are now dominant.

This is the time when history as we know it takes a turn; Well, studies have revealed that this asteroid cannot be the only one responsible for such a catastrophic event. Professor Uisdean Nicholson, an assistant professor at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, accidentally discovered, while reviewing seismic studies of tectonic division, a crater buried 400 meters off the West African coast, which could also place it as responsible for one of the largest mass extinctions .

The crater that was christened the sea mountain, Nader, is about the same age as the crater responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs.

The work was published in the magazine science progressnoting that the crater is 8 kilometers wide, which led to the hypothesis that two pairs of asteroids (Chickxulub, Nader) could have been part of a mother’s body that was fractured before it collided with our planet.

Scientists suggest drilling the crater of the volcano to find out the composition of minerals in the soil and make absolutely sure that it is part of the Chicxulub asteroid.

Veronica Bray A planetary scientist at the University of Arizona says, “A lot of people have wondered: How could the impact of Chicxulub (albeit huge) be globally devastating? Could it have helped.”

Undoubtedly, a rare discovery changes and widens the panorama of what could have happened 66 million years ago, and also justifies the extent of the damage done to the Earth.

All details are in: science advances.