Only 13% of the Earth’s surface harboured rich enough hydrocarbon deposits to cause a mass extinction following an impact, research revealsThe massive asteroid that slammed into Earth and wiped out the dinosaurs might never have triggered a mass extinction had it struck almost any other part of the planet, scientists claim. In work that reveals just how unlucky the prehistoric beasts were, researchers calculate that the odds of the enormous space rock wreaking such havoc were low across 87% of the Earth’s surface. They found that the asteroid would have to throw between 230m and 2,300m tonnes of soot into the upper atmosphere to cool the planet enough to trigger a mass extinction. But only 13% of the Earth’s surface contained sufficient hydrocarbons to do this. “The site of asteroid impact, therefore, changed the history of life on Earth,” they add.

Source: The Guardian November 09, 2017 14:00 UTC