An asteroid, also known as the Chicxulub Impactor, hit Earth some 66 million years ago, causing a crater 180 kilometre wide. This is because the catastrophic chain of events could only have occurred if the asteroid had hit the hydrocarbon-rich areas occupying about 13 per cent of Earth’s surface. The relationship between the findings and concluded that the significant cooling and mass-extinction event could have only have occurred if the asteroid had hit hydrocarbon-rich areas occupying about 13 per cent of Earth’s surface. According to the study, soot from hydrocarbon-rich areas caused global cooling of 8-11 degree Celsius and cooling on land of 13-17 degree Celsius. At the time, these hydrocarbon-rich areas were marine coastal margins, where the productivity of marine algae was generally high and sedimentary rocks were thickly deposited.

Source: Indian Express November 11, 2017 10:01 UTC