Everyone gets used to the death of dinosaurs thanks to the big asteroids that slam to earth, causing the extension of most species on the planet. How many might not know is another great meteorite that affects the planet. The second impact occurred around 65 million years ago in what is now Ukraine.
Scientists have ruled out that the second impact contributed to the extinction of dinosaurs, but the impact did indeed provide insight into the history of the earth’s climate. Geologists from the University of Glasgow use advanced dating techniques in melting rock samples created during the impact of giant meteorites in what is known as the Kivorohad Ukrainian Oblast area.
The meteorite collision with the earth created a width basin of 15 miles of giant known as the boltysh clash crater, which was full of water from time to time and became a lake. A few decades ago, scientists took samples from the crater who suggested meteorite impact between 2000 and 5000 years before the massive strike on the Yucatán Mexican Peninsula who finally killed dinosaurs. Some believe that the impact of Boltysh can occur within quite close distances of the impact of Chicxulub to contribute to dinosaur extinction.
The new study found that the impact of Ukraine occurred around 650,000 years after the Chicxulub event. As a result of this study, findings can help better understand how the atmosphere responds to climate change in the past. The researchers chose four samples from two rock core taken from the crater of the impact in Ukraine which contained rocks produced during the impact and sediments of the lake accumulated over time after the crater was formed.
The sample age is determined using Argon-Argon dating, which measures the radioactive decay of potassium to argon. The decay is known as “Rock Clock” ticking on a geological timespales that allow researchers to determine when rocks are created. The analysis showed that the impact was very close to 65.39 million years ago, making it firm after the Mexican impact that killed dinosaurs.
