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Did a Killer Asteroid Drive the Planet Into An Ice Age?
A simulation of the Eltanin meteor strike
When a mountain-sized asteroid struck the deep ocean off the coast of Antarctica 2.5 million years ago, it set off an apocalyptic chain of events: a devastating rain of molten rock and then a deadly tsunami that inundated the coastlines of the Pacific Ocean. But according to a team of Australian researchers, this was just the beginning. Then came a protracted ice age that killed off many of the Earth’s large mammals.
The Eltanin meteor, named after the USNS Eltanin which surveyed the area in 1964, is the only impact that has ever been discovered in a deep-ocean basin. These deep water impacts must be more common – so much of the planet is ocean – but they’re tricky to find because of the inaccessible depths of the impact craters. Researchers examining sediments in the area discovered tiny grains of impact melt and debris from meteorite fragments. Something big smashed this spot.
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Read the rest of Did a Killer Asteroid Drive the Planet Into An Ice Age? (345 words)
© Fraser for Universe Today, 2012. | Permalink | 7 comments |
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2012-09-20 15:48:32
Source: http://www.universetoday.com/97455/did-a-killer-asteroid-drive-the-planet-into-an-ice-age/
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