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New Discovery Could Change The Way We View The Extinction of the Dinosaurs

Information from the bottom of the sea

Grant Piper
4 min readAug 18, 2022
(Public domain)

The leading theory regarding the extinction of the dinosaurs (and much life on Earth) revolves around a single massive asteroid strike. The asteroid in question struck the Earth roughly 66 million years ago and left a 100-mile wide crater off of the Yucatan Peninsula. The asteroid would have vaporized nearly everything capable of sustaining life while blotting out the sun with steam, smoke, and ash.

A recent discovery found at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean could change that theory.

What if the dinosaurs weren’t destroyed but one massive asteroid impact but by a series of impacts that occurred around the same time?

Scientists researching tectonic relationships between Africa and South America stumbled upon a new crater hiding under 400m of silt and mud at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. The new crater is roughly five miles wide and has all of the telltale signs of a massive asteroid crater.

This new crater dates to the same period as the Chicxulub crater, which was created by the planet-killing asteroid of legend.

A Prolonged Impact Event?

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Grant Piper
Grant Piper

Written by Grant Piper

Professional writer. Amateur historian. Husband, father, Christian.

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