LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA — The theory that the asteroid which made all non-avian dinosaurs extinct also sent a mile-high tsunami crashing into North America has been further confirmed by the discovery of fossilised ‘megaripples,’ according to a new study published in the Earth and Planetary Science Letters journal.
Occurring 66 million years ago, the flow of huge waves may have continued for days as they reflected back on themselves multiple times within the Gulf of Mexico, according to the study.
According to Science Alert, the effects of the tsunami would have imposed devastation for thousands of miles, forcing sea life onto land and land life into the sea. However, atmospheric changes were primarily responsible for wiping out up to 75 percent of species on the planet at the time.
The asteroid hit with the power of 10 billion atomic bombs, according to previous research by the Jackson School of Geosciences, and initially this turned the planet into a fiery hellscape. However, when sulfur-bearing minerals from the impact site were released into the atmosphere, they began reflecting sunlight away from the planet, causing catastrophic global cooling.
The latest addition to this picture of Earth in the moments just after the apocalyptic impact comes via gigantic ripples below its surface. They were engraved by the tsunami in sediments 1,500 meters or 5,000 feet below what is now central Louisiana.
These megaripples show average wavelengths of 600 meters or 1,968 feet, and average wave heights of 16 meters or 52 feet, making them the largest ripples documented on Earth, according to the study.
