Ancient Asteroid Caused Global Firestorm ?

New Evidence Ancient Asteroid Caused Global Firestorm On Earth

Mar. 27, 2013 — A new look at conditions after a Manhattan-sized asteroid slammed into a region of Mexico in the dinosaur days indicates the event could have triggered a global firestorm that would have burned every twig, bush and tree on Earth and led to the extinction of 80 percent of all Earth's species, says a new University of Colorado Boulder study.

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A new CU-Boulder study shows that an asteroid believed to have smacked Earth some 66 million years ago likely caused a global firestorm that led to extensive plant and animal extinctions. (Credit: Illustration courtesy NASA/JPL)

Led by Douglas Robertson of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, or CIRES, the team used models that show the collision would have vaporized huge amounts of rock that were then blown high above Earth's atmosphere. The re-entering ejected material would have heated the upper atmosphere enough to glow red for several hours at roughly 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit -- about the temperature of an oven broiler element -- killing every living thing not sheltered underground or underwater.

More - Link >>> http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130327144249.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fspace_time+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Space+%26+Time+News%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail

Sources: University of Colorado at Boulder, ScienceDaily.com .

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