How Did The Chacxulub Impact
Chicxulub Impact report- By Sophia Davis
The Chicxulub asteroid hit earth over 65 million years ago, killing the vast majority of life.(1) This dramatic event had a great effect on Earth and its inhabitants. The impact included three main stages: the change of pathway which lead the asteroid towards earth, the fall of the asteroid and the effects caused.
First stage
The first stage of the Chicxulub impact was the change in space which lead the asteroid on its path to Earth. In order to get a better understanding of this event, we should first discuss the origin of the asteroid. The exact cause of an asteroids existence is not yet known for certain.(2) Many scientists believe that they are debris in the form of large space rocks, left over …show more content…
For a long period which could have lasted several years, dust and other debris from the impact formed a layer on the surface of the Earth.(13) This may have caused a threat to the survival of terrestrial animals.(13) Sunlight was unable to reach the surface of the Earth and this would have contributed to the cooling effect.(13) This layer on the Earth would have been created when the intense force of the asteroid hit Earth in the second stage which caused small pieces of earth and dust to scatter.(13) The intense wind following the event would have contributed to the spread of the debris.(7) After the asteroid, the sky would have darkened and would not have returned to its normal state for a number of months or even years.(7) The darkening of the sky must have been caused by the release of gases and distribution of dust.(7) The gases released included 10,000 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, 100 billion tonnes of carbon monoxide and 100 billion tonnes of methane.(7) This release would have also temporarily destroyed the ozone layer.(7) The darkening of the sky made photosynthesis difficult and threatened the food chain as many plants were unable to grow.(7) Photosynthesis relies heavily on the sunlight and the darkness of the sky restricted the amount filtering through to the
The Chicxulub asteroid hit earth over 65 million years ago, killing the vast majority of life.(1) This dramatic event had a great effect on Earth and its inhabitants. The impact included three main stages: the change of pathway which lead the asteroid towards earth, the fall of the asteroid and the effects caused.
First stage
The first stage of the Chicxulub impact was the change in space which lead the asteroid on its path to Earth. In order to get a better understanding of this event, we should first discuss the origin of the asteroid. The exact cause of an asteroids existence is not yet known for certain.(2) Many scientists believe that they are debris in the form of large space rocks, left over …show more content…
For a long period which could have lasted several years, dust and other debris from the impact formed a layer on the surface of the Earth.(13) This may have caused a threat to the survival of terrestrial animals.(13) Sunlight was unable to reach the surface of the Earth and this would have contributed to the cooling effect.(13) This layer on the Earth would have been created when the intense force of the asteroid hit Earth in the second stage which caused small pieces of earth and dust to scatter.(13) The intense wind following the event would have contributed to the spread of the debris.(7) After the asteroid, the sky would have darkened and would not have returned to its normal state for a number of months or even years.(7) The darkening of the sky must have been caused by the release of gases and distribution of dust.(7) The gases released included 10,000 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, 100 billion tonnes of carbon monoxide and 100 billion tonnes of methane.(7) This release would have also temporarily destroyed the ozone layer.(7) The darkening of the sky made photosynthesis difficult and threatened the food chain as many plants were unable to grow.(7) Photosynthesis relies heavily on the sunlight and the darkness of the sky restricted the amount filtering through to the