Researchers studied the massive meteorite, first discovered in 2014, which caused a tsunami larger than any in known human history and reportedly boiled the oceans. BBC .
The S2 meteorite was 200 times larger than the meteorite that wiped out the dinosaurs. 3.2 billion years ago It collided with the planet when the Earth was still in its early years – at that time water was everywhere, only a few continents rose from the sea, and only single-celled microorganisms existed.
“We know that after the Earth was formed, there was still a lot of debris flying into space that collided with the Earth,” says Professor Nadia Drabon from Harvard University, lead author of the new research. I also found evidence of this
The massive impacts not only brought devastation but also helped early life flourish.
The professor traveled three times to the impact site, which is the Barberton greenstone belt, where the remains of the meteorite impact are located. They searched for small pieces of rock left behind by the impact, eventually collecting hundreds of kilograms of rock and bringing them back to laboratories for analysis.
The research team has now also reconstructed what happened when the meteorite struck Earth and created a 500km-deep crater in the planet.
“Imagine a rain cloud, but instead of water drops, drops of molten rock rained from the sky,” the professor said, then added that a huge tsunami swept across the land, tearing up the seabed. According to Drabun, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami pales in comparison. All this energy produced massive amounts of heat that boiled the oceans, raised air temperatures, and killed single-celled organisms.
At the same time, the professor said that life was not only resilient, but also returned and flourished very quickly.
It's like brushing your teeth in the morning. We kill 99.9% of the bacteria, but by the evening they're all back, right?
He said.
According to the new findings, the large impacts brought elements essential for life, such as phosphorus, to Earth, and the tsunami that swept across the planet may have also brought iron-rich water from the depths to the surface, giving early microbes extra energy. .
The findings contribute to the increasingly widespread view among researchers that early life was in fact supported by a series of impactful meteorites. results With people Published in a scientific journal.
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