Study: Multiple Asteroids Wiped Out Dinosaurs
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The Facts
The newly studied Nadir crater, located off the coast of Guinea in West Africa, measures nearly five miles across and was created by an asteroid estimated to be 450-500 meters wide.Scientists have discovered evidence of a second large asteroid impact that occurred around the same time as the dinosaur extinction event 66M years ago, suggesting that not one but two asteroids had pushed the dinosaurs to extinction.
Using 3D seismic imaging, scientists mapped the crater rim and geological scars 300 meters beneath the ocean floor, providing unprecedented detail of a marine impact crater.According to a study published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment on Thursday, the newly studied Nadir crater, located off the coast of Guinea in West Africa, measured nearly five miles across and was created by an asteroid estimated to be 450-500 meters wide.
The Spin
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While significant, the Nadir crater pales in comparison to the Chicxulub impact. Its effects were likely localized and may not have contributed significantly to global climate change or mass extinction. When discussing the end-Cretaceous extinction, the focus should remain on the larger, more catastrophic Chicxulub event.
While scientists appear to have finally found the cause of the dinosaur's abrupt extinction, the species was likely on its way out — albeit at a slower rate — without the help of a celestial attack. At the time, the Earth was cooling, thus turning widespread tropical climates into less vegetative climates. Like most species throughout Earth's history, dinosaurs likely lost their food source.