A giant, destructive meteorite struck Earth millions of years ago, causing oceans to boil, a megatsunami, and air temperatures to rise to unbearable levels. But despite the destruction, it would have been an event that would have allowed life to form on the planet.
They discovered it for the first time in 2014 and were fascinated. And at some point in Earth’s history, there was a huge meteorite who caused the megatsunami more intense which caused the oceans to boil.
As explained by BBC World it was about a space rock, called S2 meteorite, 200 times larger than the one that wiped out the dinosaurs. This destruction would have taken place when the planet was in its “infancy”, three billion years ago.
But what traces did this colossal meteorite leave on our planet? What was the moment of impact like? That’s all we know about this episode in-universe.
The deadly meteorite that caused the worst megatsunami in history
Equipped with sledgehammers, scientists discovered the impact site of the largest meteorite ever recorded in the world: The location is in South Africa, and they found pieces of rock that gave them a better understanding of what happened at that time.
As the professor explained Nadja Drabon of Harvard University at this moment in history, “After the Earth formed, many debris flying in space crashed into it.”
The expert, who is also the lead author of the new study that revealed the giant meteorite, published in the PNAS scientific journal also pointed out that This colossal impact on Earth was necessary for primitive life to thrive.
“Now we’ve discovered that life is truly resilient after some of these gigantic impacts and that in fact it has prospered and prospered,” he said.
To get an idea, meteorite S2 —the official name of this space rock— It was much bigger than the one that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs : The latter measured about 10 kilometers wide, almost the height of Everest.
Instead, S2 was between 40 and 60 kilometers wide and a mass between 50 and 200 times greater.
According to the team of scientists led by Drabon, This giant meteorite struck the planet at a time when the Earth was very different from the one we know today, since it was in its first years of life.
It was a “water” world where only a few continents protruded from the sea. Furthermore, life forms were too simple: they consisted of microorganisms composed of individual cells.
Where did the largest meteorite in history fall?
In study S2, it is stated that This meteorite hit the Eastern Greenbelt of Barberton, South Africa, one of the oldest places on Earth.
Drabon and his team have traveled at least three times, but This is not an easily accessible area. : they had to drive as much as they can through the mountains and then finish cover the path on foot and with backpacks.
As told to BBC World, they also had to be accompanied by guards armed with machine guns, because it is full of wild animals (elephants and rhinos) or poachers.
The objective of the team of scientists was look for rock fragments from the meteorite or spherule particles that may have been left behind by the impact. With their masses, they began to explore the area and managed to collect hundreds of kilos of rock.
When they were at the airport, staff stopped Professor Darbon to ask her about the stones she had in her suitcase: “They usually stop me at security, but I give them a speech about how exciting science is, and then they get really bored and let me pass.”
This is how the stones were able to reach the laboratories for analysis.
What do we know about the largest meteorite that crashed on Earth
With the evidence in hand, the team of scientists was able to reconstruct what the impact of the S2 meteorite on Earth looked like: it was a “violent” act which formed a crater 500 kilometers in diameter.
Furthermore, the fall caused rocks were pulverized and ejected at “incredibly high speeds” causing the formation of a cloud that circled the world.
Drabon showed that it was like “a rain cloud, but instead of drops of water, there are drops of molten rock falling from the sky.”
SO, A megatsunami would have been generated and would have “taken away” the planet : tore up the seabed and caused serious flooding on the coasts.
The energy of the meteorite would have caused The oceans would boil and tens of meters of water would evaporate. This also influenced The air temperature will reach up to 100°C.
SOthe sky on Earth was darkened by dust and particles, blocking the passage of sunlight which was necessary for life (although very simple) on Earth or in shallow waters, since they depended on photosynthesis.
But A kind of “miracle” happened: The disturbances in the earth caused by the meteorite “stirred up” the nutrients gradually. phosphorus and iron which became food for simple organisms. This is how life flourished.
“Life was not only resilient, but it quickly recovered and thrived. It’s like when you brush your teeth in the morning. You kill 99.9% of bacteria, but at night they all come back, right?
Furthermore, the results indicated that The meteorite impact functioned as a “giant fertilizer” that sent new elements essential for life across the Earth, such as phosphorus.
For his part, The tsunami carried masses of iron-rich water from the depths. This is how additional energy could have been generated for the planet’s first microbes.
“It seems that Life after impact found truly favorable conditions this allowed him to flourish.
Source: Latercera
I am David Jack and I have been working in the news industry for over 10 years. As an experienced journalist, I specialize in covering sports news with a focus on golf. My articles have been published by some of the most respected publications in the world including The New York Times and Sports Illustrated.
