A new study shows that sulfur was thrown high into the air when the asteroid hit Earth 66 million years ago.
The study found that the cloud of sulfur-bearing gases that fell down as acid rain on Earth changed the chemistry of the oceans for tens of thousands of years.
James Witts, a lecturer in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol in the U.K., told Live Science that the findings show that we have underestimated the amount of sulfur created by the asteroid impact. The climate change that was associated with it was much greater than we thought.
The sulfur that fell onto the land may have washed away into the ocean, which may explain why it took so long for marine life to recover.
What happened when an asteroid slammed into Earth?
Witts said that the finding was completely unexpected. The team had originally planned to study the chemistry of ancient shells near the Brazos River in Falls County, Texas, which was underwater during the end- Cretaceous extinction. It is not too far away from the crater where the asteroid struck.
The researchers took a few samples at the site. The sulfur samples were brought to the University of St Andrew's in Scotland, where they were analyzed by the study co-researcher.
Witts said that the researchers found a very unusual signal. Mass changes occur when sulfur enters the atmosphere and interacts with the UV light.
Earth is 4.5 billion years old and has been surrounded by an oxygenated atmosphere for 2.3 billion years. Witts said that volcanic eruptions release sulfur high into the atmosphere, which can mix with snow and end up in high concentrations in ice cores at the poles.
He said that the signal is not seen in marine rocks.
If the asteroid had hit somewhere else, there wouldn't have been as much sulfur released into the atmosphere and the climate change that followed might not have been as severe.
According to climate models, the sulfur aerosols entering the atmosphere after the asteroid impact would have turned into sulfate aerosols, which would have caused 3.6 to 14 degrees Fahrenheit cooling. The climate change could have been more severe if the sulfur amount was higher.
The study was published in the journal on Monday.
It was originally published on Live Science.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
