what happened to the meteor that killed the dinosaurs

1 year ago 79
Nature

The asteroid that killed the dinosaurs was about 10 kilometers in diameter and struck Earth off the coast of Mexicos Yucatán Peninsula, creating the Chicxulub crater. The impact caused a massive "megatsunami" with waves over a mile high and threw huge amounts of debris into the air, causing massive tidal waves to wash over parts of the American continents and substantial fires. The impact also triggered a "mega earthquake" that shook the planet for weeks or even months, releasing energy equivalent to 10^23 joules. The devastation caused by the impact and climate disruption was the cause of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, a mass extinction of 75% of plant and animal species on Earth, including all non-avian dinosaurs. However, life rebounded just a few years after the impact, and some scientists hypothesize that life might slowly creep back into impact craters, perhaps because of toxic metals such as mercury and lead scattered by the impact.