The team also found evidence that massive asteroid impacts did not bring only destruction to Earth – they helped early life thrive.
The meteorite S2 was much larger than the space rock we are most familiar with.
Prof Drabon travelled there three times with her colleagues, driving as far as possible into the remote mountains before hiking the rest of the way with backpacks.
These impacts are similar to what geologists have found about other big meteorite impacts and what was suspected for S2.
But what Prof Drabon and her team found next was surprising.
An enormous meteorite boiled the oceans and ripped up the seafloor.
yesterday.
Rannard, Georgina.
reporter for science and the climate.
The oceans were boiled by a massive meteorite that was first found in 2014 and caused a tsunami larger than any in recorded human history, according to scientists.
Three billion years ago, when our planet was still a baby, a space rock 200 times larger than the one that killed the dinosaurs crashed into it.
To better understand the crash, scientists hiked to the impact site in South Africa with sledge hammers in order to chip away pieces of rock.
The group also discovered proof that early life flourished as a result of massive asteroid impacts, which did more than just destroy Earth.
Professor Nadja Drabon of Harvard University, the lead author of the new study, states, “We know that after Earth first formed there was still a lot of debris flying around space that would be smashing into Earth.”.
“However, we have now discovered that life was incredibly resilient following some of these massive impacts, and that it truly flourished,” she says.
Compared to the space rock we are most familiar with, the meteorite S2 was substantially larger. The one that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago was nearly as tall as Mount Everest, at around 10 km.
However, S2 had a mass 50–200 times greater and a width of 40–60 km.
It occurred when Earth was still young and had a very different appearance. A small number of continents protruded from the sea on this water world. microorganisms made up of a single cell made life very simple.
With the remains of a meteorite crash, the Eastern Barberton Greenbelt impact site is among the oldest locations on Earth.
Together with her colleagues, Professor Drabon made three trips there, driving as far as she could into the isolated mountains before using backpacks to hike the remaining distance.
To defend them from untamed creatures like rhinos and elephants, as well as poachers within the national park, rangers were present with machine guns.
They searched for impact-left spherule particles, which are microscopic pieces of rock. They gathered hundreds of kilograms of rock using sledge hammers and brought it back to labs for examination.
Professor Drabon packed her luggage with the most valuable items.
According to her, “security usually stops me, but I give them a big spiel about how exciting the science is and then they get really bored and let me through.”.
Now, the team has recreated exactly what happened when the S2 meteorite crashed into Earth with such violence. It created a cloud that encircled the earth by pulverizing rocks that ejected at extremely high speeds and gouging out a 500 km crater.
According to Professor Drabon, “imagine a rain cloud, but instead of water droplets coming down, it’s like molten rock droplets raining out of the sky.”.
It would have torn up the sea floor, flooded coastlines, and swept across the world in a massive tsunami.
Prof. Drabon says the 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean would have been nothing compared to it.
The oceans would have boiled due to the enormous amounts of heat produced by all that energy, causing up to tens of meters of water to evaporate. Additionally, it would have raised the temperature of the air by as much as 100 degrees Celsius.
Dust and particles would have choked the skies, turning them black. Simple photosynthesis-dependent life on land or in shallow water would have been exterminated if sunlight hadn’t been able to penetrate the darkness.
Geologists have found similar impacts to those suspected of S2 and other large meteorite impacts.
What Professor Drabon and her colleagues discovered next, however, was unexpected. As demonstrated by the rock evidence, the violent disturbances churned up nutrients that fed simple organisms, such as iron and phosphorus.
According to her, “life was not only resilient, but it actually recovered very quickly and flourished.”.
It’s similar to brushing your teeth first thing in the morning. Although 99–99% of the bacteria are killed, they all return by nightfall, correct? she asks.
According to the new research, the massive impacts may have acted as a giant fertilizer, spreading phosphorus and other life-sustaining elements all over the world.
Additionally, iron-rich water from the depths would have been brought to the surface by the tsunami that swept the planet, providing early microbes with additional energy.
Professor Drabon says the results support the growing scientific consensus that the violent succession of rocks that struck Earth in its early years actually aided early life.
Life after the impact appears to have encountered extremely favorable circumstances that enabled it to flourish, she says.
The scientific journal PNAS publishes the findings.
