Sixty -six million years ago, the reign of dinosaurs, a dynasty that dominated the Earth for over 160 million years, occurred to a cataclysmic end.
Culprit? Space ball, a colossal asteroid of about the size of a compact city, rushing in space with unimaginable speed. His goal: shallow sea of what is currently the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.
The influence was not only a collision; It was a planetary detonation, an event that changed the face of our world and caused a cascade of destructive consequences, including tsunami truly monstrous proportions.
While the image of the fire and seasoning, the atmosphere burdened with dust often dominates in our understanding of the event of chalk-fleshmallow (K-PG), the power released in the oceans is equally stunning.
Influence sculpted The chicxulub crater, a scar over 180 kilometers wide, and in a direct consequence gave birth to a wave differently than everything seen before or since then – Tsunami is estimated that it reached the initial height of the staggering 1.5 kilometer, almost a million altitude.
In other words, the largest registered tsunami in up-to-date history, caused by Lituya Bay from 1958 in Alaska, reached a terrifying, but relatively compact 524 meters. Chicxulub Tsunami even overshadowed this colossal wave.
Imagine: a wall of water higher than the highest skyscrapers in the world, High Outside from the impact zone with unimaginable force. This was not your typical tsunami generated by an earthquake, a series of long -term waves waves on the ocean. It was a direct, violent displacement of a huge volume of water, a shock wave translated into a liquid giant.
Interestingly, the initial high wave was just the beginning of water chaos. When the colossal column of water went back to the newly formed crater, it simply did not peaceful down. Instead, he bounced like a giant splash in a cosmic bathtub.
This created A series of secondary waves, each of which still has huge energy, radiating outside the world. Computer simulations were crucial in helping scientists to solve this sophisticated sequence of events, painting a lively water image of the Apocalypse.
The scale of this age-old tsunami was so huge that his fingerprints could still be detected, thousands of kilometers from the place of impact. Geologists have discovered the characteristic layers of sediment in places as far as Europe and even New Zealand, layers that have undoubted signature of the cataclysm wave.
These sedimentary records often contain shocked quartz, microtctites (compact glassy balls formed from a molten rock thrown out during a impact), and even traces of Iridium, a scarce element on Earth, but bountiful in asteroids – all evidence indicating chicxulub.
Consider the speed and power of these waves. Near the epicenter, in the Gulf of Mexico, the initial violent violent moved at a speed exceeding 100 meters per second (over 220 miles per hour), with a wave height exceeding 100 meters.
One fascinating aspect of research is the analysis of the directionality of these age-old waves.
By examining the orientation of sediments and the size of transported remains, scientists can reproduce the path and intensity of the Tsunami when propagated in various ocean pools. It is like a criminal science on a planetary scale, combining events from a long -lost day.
The global range of Chicxulub Tsunami emphasizes the mutual connection of our planet. The event located in a relatively compact area can free forces that resounded around the world, affecting not only the ground and atmosphere, but also the deepest parts of the oceans.
The influence of chicxulub was not just a rock falling from heaven; It was a planets reset button, and the mile tsunami was one of the most destructive pressers.
Image Source: Pixabay.com
