How often on average do you think a meteorite the size of a house impacts the Earth?

Every 30 years, every ten years, every five years or every two years? Earth is hit by a meteorite about seven meters across. Every five years, so C is the correct answer. However, the earth is being bombarded by smaller meteorites more often, and much larger bodies less frequently. On February 13th, 2013, a meteor exploded over the city of Chelyabinsk, Russia. The meteor broke apart in the sky above the city and the resulting shock wave blew out windows form miles around. Over 1000 people were injured, largely from flying glass. This meteor was probably about the size of a small house and weighed around 10000 tons. Today there is good evidence that a major meteorite impact occurred at the end of the cretaceous. The Chelyabinsk meteorite caused a lot of damage. But ultimately it was a very small meteor that hit the earth. We believe that the meteorite impact At the end of the crutacious was caused by a rock from space that was 10 kilometers across an object larger then Mount Everest. Let's take a look at some of the evidence for the end crutacious meteorite hypothesis. A geologist examining the stratigraphy near Gubbio, Italy in 1979, observed a dark gray line of clay in the rock. There were many species of small, Oceanic plankton, both above and below the layer of clay. But the species were completely different from one another. That observation raise a very interesting question. Why? Scientist determine that the dark gray line of clay an extinction event like a fingerprint left behind at the scene of a crime. There was oceanic plankton above and below the line. Meaning the environment was similar, but

it is not normal for all of the species to change at once. The layer of clay was associated with a catastrophic event, that caused many species to die, and led to other species that flourished. This layer was deposited about 65 million years ago. The change in plankton species above and below the clay layer suggests that something abrupt happened here. But how long did it take for the clay to be deposited? Even though it is very thin, maybe the sedimentation rate was very slow. And this thin layer represents a long period of time. Radiometric dating was used to figure out how long it took the clay layers to be deposited. Test results showed something unexpected. A high concentration of a very rare element called iridium. The clay was full of it. Iridium is very rare on earth. But is abundant in meteorites. Before long, scientists were looking for evidence of this clay layer all over the Earth, and they found this layer in 65 million-year-old sedimentary rock everywhere. As samples of this clay layer were examined further. Unusual geological structures were found. Tektites. Tektites are little globules of heated and cooled rock that only form around impact craters. Scientists also found grains of the mineral quartz, with a distinctive internal structure that can only be caused by one of two events. Shock wave from an atomic bomb blast or shock waves from a meteorite impact. We call this kind of quartz, shocked quartz. The evidence for a meteorite impact 65 million years ago is growing. An impact crater would be really good support for our hypothesis. That a large meteorite impact was a source of iridium. Which of these places could you find an impact crater for 65 million years ago? Check the answer or answers you think are

correct. A, the deep ocean, B, the Himalayas C, Iceland. Or D, Mexico. A crater might only be found on land that had been around and relatively unchanged for the last 65 million years. If the meteor hit the deep ocean it might not have left the crater. If it hit in the mountains, the mountain building of the Himalayas over the last 65 million years could have destroyed the crater and some places like Iceland on the main Oceanic Ridge a made up of rocks much younger than 65 million years old. So, 'D' is the correct answer. A lot of time has passed since the suspected meteorite impact. So maybe the craters weathered away or was buried. Luckily there are tools to help us peer inside the layers of earth to look for large scale structures like impact craters. And geologists looking for fossil fuels Often used these methods. A team of geologists noticed an unusual pattern of geological features in Mexico. Sinkholes, called cenotes, are arranged in a huge circle in the Yucatn Peninsula. Could this be the impact site? Geologists use remote sensing to look deep into the rock layers. And found a huge buried impact crater. The cenotes were arranged in a circle, because the impact of the meteor pushed the rocks in to a raised rim, and the rocks at the rim of the crater dissolved and formed caves more easily than the surrounding rocks. There's one more piece of information that you need to confirm that this impact crater is related to the iridium layer. What is it? The impact crater has to be the right size, the right age, or in the right place. We definitely need to know that the impact crater formed 65 million years ago for it to be related to the iridium layer also from 65 million years ago. Where it hit is not as important, because

it had global effects. And the size of the crater could be changed because of weathering. However, if the impact crater formed longed before or after the Iridium layer, the 2 events could not be related. So B, is the correct answer. And guess what? Our suspected impact crater in the Yucatan, called the Chicxulub Crater, is 65 million years old. Let's review our evidence. A layer of clay that is 65 million years old contains an unusually large amount of iridium. Which is only found at these concentrations in meteorites. And asteroids. The iridium layer is found all over the world. The clay layer also has tektites and shocked quartz structures that can only be formed by nuclear explosions or meteorite impacts. A giant impact crater in Mexico is 65 million years old. We have some pretty solid evidence that a devastating meteor struck the Earth 65 million years ago. But why would a meteorite impact have been the cause of the end Cretaceous extinction? The Chicxulub Impactor, the meteor that formed the Chicxulub crater, was huge. It was far bigger than the Russian meteorite from 2013 that caused so much damage. The effects of such an impact would have been dramatic in both the short and long terms. The meteor landed in the ocean, causing mega tsunamis. We see evidence for huge tsunami deposits in the rock record 65 million years ago. The shock wave from the meteor would have been intense, and the impact would have caused a huge explosion of dust and rocks, throwing debris into the atmosphere and igniting huge firestorms on the ground. As the particles fell back to earth, atmospheric friction would have caused them to heat up. Which in turn, would have raised the air temperature on the earth's surface. In the few hours after the impact, dinosaurs and other animals that

could not find shelter in water, or underground, would have been cooked alive. Which animals do you think would have been well-adapted to survive the Chicxulub impactor heat pulse? Check all the answers you think are correct. Was it non-avian dinosaurs? Birds? Mammals? Or crocodiles? On land, any animals that could shelter in lakes or streams and just come to the surface for short breaths of air, would have been able to survive, so turtles, crocodilians, and champsosaurs were able to survive. Scientists also think that animals May have been able to survive the heat pulse by burrowing a little bit into the ground or even by hiding in some very thick tree stumps or caves. In this way small birds, mammals, and snakes were able to survive. Some small dinosaurs may also have survived in this way. So answers B, C and D are correct. Very fine dust particles would not have fallen back to Earth for a long time. The Earth was plunged into gloomy twilight, perhaps for as many as ten years. For about six months after the impact. There was so little sunlight that plants and phytoplankton stopped photosynthesizing. For up to ten years after the impact, phtosynthesis would have been reduced because of reduced sunlight. Plants and phytoplankton are at the bottom of the food chain. No photosyntheseis, Means no food for the herbivores, and then no food for the carnivores, both on land and in the ocean. Less sunlight also meant that the surface of the earth got colder. Their might have been freezing temperatures for almost 10 years, and temperatures may not have gone back to normal for a hundred years. The global cooling would also have affected ocean circulation, which would have major effects on green organisms. In short Earth was not a very nice place to be after the Chicxulub impact 65 million years ago.

If you weren't blown away by the shock wave, drowned in the tsunami Or burnt to death during the global fire storms and heap holes, you would have faced a multi-year winter, with very little food and sunlight. Thankfully, some lucky and tenacious animals survived this catastrophe, and a new era of life on Earth began. The Mesosoic was over and the Zenozoic had just begun.