As if one catastrophe was not enough: the impact of the asteroid Chicxulub at the end of the Cretaceous period 66 million years ago had global consequences. Life in the vicinity died from the intense explosion and energy released. The massive tsunami waves still killed animals and plants thousands of kilometers away, and the survivors had to fight the subsequent winter due to dust and ash. At the same time, the Earth continued to shake for weeks or months after the impact. A study by Hermann Bermudez of Montclair State University and his team suggests this Presented at a meeting of the Geological Society of America.
According to the calculations of Bermúdez and Co, this huge earthquake had a power of 10 during the entire period23 Gaul’s report was released: 50,000 times more than the devastating earthquake that occurred on December 26, 2004 off the coast of Sumatra. To do this, the team examined sediments from the Cretaceous-III boundary from various locations in the USA, Colombia and Mexico, which contain glass pellets as well as tektites and microtectites: these shaped fragments formed directly during the impact due to the high pressure and intense heat of the crust fused Infected land together and taken out before it is deposited again over a large area.
Today it is embedded in hard layers of mud and sandstone, which show typical signs of tremors. They persisted above the immediate boundary for some time, indicating that these tremors continued for weeks and months until the fine material that was stirred up was re-depositioned. Immediately above this layer are the first fossil traces of ferns, indicating the recovery of life. “The section that I discovered on Gorgonilla Island off Colombia is a great place to study the Cretaceous and Tertiary boundary because it is one of the best preserved and was so deep in the ocean at that time that it was not directly affected by the tsunami,” Bermúdez says.
Signs of deformation from the massive earthquake have also been found in Mexico and the United States. In El Papalote in Mexico, Bermúdez noticed signs of liquefaction when strong tremors cause water-saturated sediment to flow like a liquid. In Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas, geologist has documented faults and fissures likely related to the massive earthquake. He also documented tsunami deposits in several places that were far away on the continents at that time.
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