The Chicxulub impact may have wiped out nearly all of life on Earth when it hit, but a study of the crater has revealed that the resulting blast from the event deformed rocks in such a way that niches that could support early life were created.
Back in April and May, the researchers carried out an expedition on the Chicxulub crater, drilling into the peak ring to collect samples. Now, those samples have been analyzed, and they revealed that the rocks within the impact crater were deformed in such a way that they turned less dense and more porous.
In a study published in the journal Science, the researchers detail that these porous rocks have niches that simple organisms can hold on to and where nutrients would also be sufficient to support life, thanks to the circulating water heated by the Earth's crust.
The study was also able to confirm a model developed to show how the peak ring was formed as well as how peak rings may be produced in other planetary objects.
The Chicxulub Impact
The Chicxulub event occurred about 65 million years ago when a massive asteroid hit the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in a huge impact that the initial impact and subsequent effects decimated about 75 percent of life on the planet, including most of the dinosaurs.
According to the study, the Chicxulub impact pushed rocks that were situated miles below the surface farther down and then outward. The rocks then moved inward again toward the zone of impact before moving up to the surface again. After that, the rocks collapsed downward then outward again, forming the peak ring. These all happened in just a few minutes and resulted in rock movement of about 18.6 miles in total.
Future Chicxulub Studies
In the future, the researchers are looking to acquire a more detailed suite of measurements from the core samples to come up with more refined numerical simulations. Their ultimate goal is to find evidence of ancient and modern life in the rocks within the peak ring, but they are also looking to learn more about the first sediments deposited atop the peak ring. How these sediments were deposited will give the researchers more insight into how and when life recovered and thrived after the Chicxulub impact.
"We are hoping that further analyses of the core samples will provide more insights into how life can exist in these subterranean environments," said Joanna Morgan, the study's lead author.
