(ORDO NEWS) — The asteroid that caused the extinction of dinosaurs on our planet also triggered a tsunami 4.5 kilometers high. This is the information geologists received during their latest research.
About 66 million years ago, an asteroid with a diameter of 14 kilometers fell on Earth. As a result of the impact, the Chicxulub crater was formed, the size of which is 200 kilometers.
It is located on the coast of modern Mexico. It is worth paying attention to the fact that the fact of the fall of this meteorite has been repeatedly confirmed.
At the same time, scientists continue to discuss the role of this space stone in the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Molly Range from the University of Michigan was able to find out that the fall of the asteroid caused a significant decrease in temperature on the planet.
In addition, as a result of the impact, an incredibly powerful tsunami arose. It was 2,600 times stronger than the one that occurred in 2004 near the coast of Indonesia.
“The tsunami was so strong that it could well have destroyed the sediments on the bottom of the oceans on about half of our planet,” scientists say.
The experts were able to obtain this information thanks to the analysis of a certain computer model, with the help of which the process of formation of a gigantic crater was previously described.
It was also determined how exactly the impact affected the regions in the immediate vicinity of the epicenter of the events.
The fall of the space rock triggered a powerful tsunami. Its waves covered most of the world‘s oceans.
The height of the first waves was 4.5 km. They contained many fragments of rocks, so they could not spread over a long distance and quickly subsided.
Shortly after them, a wave with a height of 1.5 km was formed, which was able to bypass most of the land.
The speed of the wave reached 720 meters per hour. It destroyed many deposits that were formed by the end of the Cretaceous period at the bottom of the future Atlantic and North America.
—
Online:
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.