A clear picture is emerging of why the asteroid that struck Earth 66 million years ago was so catastrophic.

The space object, which wiped out 75% of all species including the dinosaurs, hit the worst possible place on the planet and – according to new research – at the most lethal angle.

Investigations at the crater site, together with computer simulations, suggest the impactor dug into the crust at an inclination of up to 60 degrees.

This exacerbated the climatic fallout.

We know that the target rocks, in what is now the Gulf of Mexico, contained huge volumes of sulphur from the mineral gypsum. When this material was thrown high into the atmosphere and mixed with water vapour, it produced a “global winter”.

And the angle of attack ensured this environmental crisis was intense and prolonged.

“At 45 to 60 degrees, the impact is very efficient at vaporising and ejecting debris to high altitude. If the impact happens at shallower or much steeper angles, the amount of material that’s put into the atmosphere that can then have climate-changing effects is significantly less,” explained Prof Gareth Collins from Imperial College London.

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Bubblecar said:

A clear picture is emerging of why the asteroid that struck Earth 66 million years ago was so catastrophic.

The space object, which wiped out 75% of all species including the dinosaurs, hit the worst possible place on the planet and – according to new research – at the most lethal angle.

Investigations at the crater site, together with computer simulations, suggest the impactor dug into the crust at an inclination of up to 60 degrees.

This exacerbated the climatic fallout.

We know that the target rocks, in what is now the Gulf of Mexico, contained huge volumes of sulphur from the mineral gypsum. When this material was thrown high into the atmosphere and mixed with water vapour, it produced a “global winter”.

And the angle of attack ensured this environmental crisis was intense and prolonged.

“At 45 to 60 degrees, the impact is very efficient at vaporising and ejecting debris to high altitude. If the impact happens at shallower or much steeper angles, the amount of material that’s put into the atmosphere that can then have climate-changing effects is significantly less,” explained Prof Gareth Collins from Imperial College London.

Full Report

> The only way he can reproduce the geometry is by having the asteroid come in from the northeast and strike the Earth at an angle of roughly 60 degrees. If you run the model at different impact angles, at 30 degrees and at 45 degrees, say, you can’t match the observations – you get centres of mantle uplift and of the peak ring on the downrange side of the crater centre. And for a straight overhead impact, at 90 degrees, the centres are all on top of each other. So, that’s doesn’t match the observations, either.

So 75 degrees is still allowed then?

I’m interested in that “from the northeast”. I would have guessed from the south or southwest, because the thickest deposits are in North America. Can we get confirmation of that from Antarctica?

From knowledge that a parabolic arc ejected at 45 degrees travels furthest, I would have guessed that near 45 degrees would have caused the maximum damage.

Bubblecar said:

Angle of Chicxulub impact caused maximum damage

The space object … hit the worst possible place on the planet and … at the most lethal angle.

Investigations … with computer simulations, suggest the … inclination of up to 60 degrees … exacerbated the climatic fallout.

… huge volumes of sulphur … thrown high into the atmosphere … produced a “global winter” … attack … was intense and prolonged.

so we can conclude this s invented and released from the Chinese Space Laboratory in Wuhan then

SCIENCE said:

Bubblecar said:

Angle of Chicxulub impact caused maximum damage

The space object … hit the worst possible place on the planet and … at the most lethal angle.

Investigations … with computer simulations, suggest the … inclination of up to 60 degrees … exacerbated the climatic fallout.

… huge volumes of sulphur … thrown high into the atmosphere … produced a “global winter” … attack … was intense and prolonged.

so we can conclude this s invented and released from the Chinese Space Laboratory in Wuhan then

Oh yes, totally invented. The dinosaurs were definitely killed off by the flood basalt in India, the Deccan Traps. Chicxulub just went along for the ride.

;-)