A massive space rock, the size of four Mount Everests, crashed into Earth over 3 billion years ago. Contrary to expectations, this event may have actually fostered life on the planet, rather than causing destruction. Lead author Nadja Drabon and her team from Harvard University visited the impact site in South Africa to study the aftermath of the meteorite collision, known as S2. Evidence of the impact was found in the Barberton Greenstone Belt, revealing tsunamis and other cataclysmic events triggered by the crash.
The S2 impact, estimated to be 200 times larger than the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs, caused a devastating tsunami that stirred up the ocean and heated the atmosphere. However, it also had benefits for life on Earth. The crash brought iron from deep in the ocean to shallow waters, providing a food source that allowed bacteria life to flourish and rebound quickly. The impact ultimately allowed unicellular organisms to thrive and grow. This study challenges the common belief that impact events are disastrous for life, suggesting that they may have actually contributed to the flourishing of early life on Earth.
Drabon and her team plan to continue investigating the impact site to further understand how the meteorite’s collision shaped Earth’s history. Despite the cataclysmic events caused by the S2 impact, it may have played a key role in promoting the growth and development of life on the planet billions of years ago.
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