Scientists have created a map of the 'megarabes' formed after the Chicxulub asteroid impact 66 million years ago. (Image credit: Aunt_Spray/Getty Images)
A new study shows that ocean-floor “mega ripples” caused by the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs are much more widespread than researchers previously thought.
The findings provide new insights into the powerful forces generated by the tsunamis that followed the Chicxulub asteroid impact at the end of the Cretaceous period 66 million years ago.
In a new study published January 19 in the journal Marine Geology, scientists analyzed a large set of 3-D seismic data from the oil industry and found that tsunamis generated by the fall covered a much larger area than previously recorded.
In a 2021 study, University of Louisiana at Lafayette geophysicist Gary Kinsland and colleagues identified for the first time a 77-square-mile (200-square-kilometer) region of seismically imaged megaripples on the shelf of what is now central Louisiana. This relatively shallow area was once flooded and extended from the coast into deeper ocean waters.
In a 2021 study, the team proposed that the megaripples, which average 52 feet (16 meters) in height and have an average wavelength (from one crest to the next) of 1,970 feet (600 meters), were formed by tsunamis that rolled across the sediment-covered seafloor after the asteroid impact.
A map showing areas where researchers found megaripples using seismic surveys.
To further develop this research, the team analyzed 900 square miles (2,400 square kilometers) of 3D seismic data covering both offshore and deeper water areas. The results show that megaripples are present throughout the study area, indicating a large-scale tsunami impact.
However, the researchers also found significant differences in the shape and orientation of the ripples depending on their location.
Sourse: www.livescience.com
