Impact that killed the dinosaurs may have triggered a 'mega-earthquake' that lasted weeks to months

The extinction of the dinosaurs was caused by a 10-kilometer asteroid hitting Earth. According to new evidence, the earthquake that shook the planet after the impact was caused by the Chicxulub impact. The amount of energy that was released in the magnitude 9.1 Sumatra earthquake in 2004 is about 50,000 times greater.

The evidence of the mega-earthquake will be presented by Hermann Bermdez at the upcoming GSA Connects meeting in Denver. Bermdez traveled to Texas, Alabama, and Mississippi earlier this year to collect data on the K-Pg mass extinction event boundary.

The spherule deposits that Bermdez found on the island were filled with small glass beads. When the heat and pressure of the impact melted and scattered the Earth, small, melted blobs of glass fell back to the surface as glass under the influence of gravity.

There is a story to be told from the bottom of the ocean, roughly 2 km down. Sand, mud, and small ocean creatures were on the ocean floor when the asteroid hit. Bermdez attributes the shaking from the impact to the soft-sediment that is still present in the outcrops.

The shaking that took weeks and months to reach the ocean floor was caused by the spherule-rich layer that was deposited after the impact. The first recovery of plant-life after the impact can be seen just above the spherule deposits.

One of the best-preserved parts of the K-Pg boundary is located deep in the ocean and it was not affected by waves.

There is evidence of the mega-earthquake in Mexico and the US. Evidence of liquefaction can be seen at the El Papalote exposure in Mexico. Bermdez documented faults and cracks in several states. The cascading catastrophes caused by the asteroid collision were documented by him.

Bermdez will speak about the evidence for the mega-earthquake at the GSA Connects meeting in Denver. On Monday, October 10, he will present a poster that will be available in English, Spanish, Italian, French, and Chinese. He talked about the importance of collaboration in visiting and studying so many outcrops that tell the story of this extreme event in Earth's history.