Evidence of an asteroid impact crater is under the North Atlantic Ocean. The discovery could make scientists reevaluate how the era of dinosaurs came to an end.
A new study indicates that when the dinosaur-killing asteroid struck with Earth 66 million years ago, vast amounts of sulfur were hurled into the stratosphere volumes far greater than previously imagined.
(Photo : sethink on Pixabay)
However, University of Leeds researchers have discovered that lightning strikes were almost as important as meteorites in fulfilling this crucial role and causing life to emerge.
They claim that if the atmospheric conditions are correct, life might evolve on Earth-like planets by the same process at any time. Benjamin Hess led the study during his undergraduate studies in the School of Earth and Atmosphere at the University of Leeds.
Mr. Hess and his teachers were gazing at a huge and pure sample of fulgurite, a rock produced as lightning hits the earth. The sample was created when lightning struck a property in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, in 2016 and was donated to Wheaton College s geology department.