Планету накрыла тьма из космоса: ученые узнали иную причину вымирания в слое глины

Sixty-six million years ago, an object 10 to 15 kilometers wide struck the Yucatan Peninsula at 64,000 km/h. The impact vaporized the bolide and triggered an extinction event that eliminated 75% of Earth's species, including non-avian dinosaurs. Because the asteroid left no intact remains, researchers rely on a global clay layer to reconstruct its chemical composition. Analyzing nickel isotopes within this sediment, researchers from the University of Paris and the Earth Physics Institute identified the projectile as a CO-class carbonaceous chondrite (Ornans). This specific group represents a small fraction of carbonaceous chondrites, which themselves account for only 5% of all meteorites recovered on Earth. The classification shifts the understanding of the extinction mechanism. CO-class chondrites contain far less sulfur and other volatile elements than other meteorite types. This reduces the likelihood that sulfur-driven climatic collapse was the primary driver of the mass extinction. Instead, the evidence points to microscopic debris ejected into the upper atmosphere, which blocked solar radiation.