Two meteorites wiped out dinosaurs

• Share:
• Twittear

Dinosaurs disappeared from the face of the earth 65 million years ago. A new study published in the Journal Geology says that it was caused by the impact of at least two meteorites.

Previously, scientists had found a huge crater in the Gulf of Mexico (USA), created by a meteorite impact that wiped out the dinosaurs.

Now a group of researchers at the University of Aberdeen in the UK, led by professor David Jolley, says there is evidence of a second impact in Ukraine. That raises the possibility the Earth was bombarded by a meteor shower.

The Boltysh Crater was discovered in 2002 but until now nobody knew how it was related to the Chicxulub Crater in the Gulf of Mexico.

Meteor hitting the Earth

In the new study, scientists examined the pollen and spores of plant fossils in the layers of mud from the crater. They found that immediately after impact, ferns colonize the devastated landscape. The strata full of fern spores are considered good indicators of past impacts.

However, the scientists performed an unexpected finding. They located a second layer of the plants above it, suggesting a later impact. That would demonstrate that Boltysh and Chicxulub impacts did not occur at the same time. These meteorites fell with a difference of thousands of years.

Meteors shower

So scientists believe that dinosaurs did not disappear by a single impact. They believe it was by a meteor shower for thousands of years. The reasons that caused the ‘bombing’ are not clear.

• Share:
• Twittear