New Evidence May Shed Light , on Extinction Event , That Killed the Dinosaurs.
The Byte reports that scientists believe they have
recovered traces of the asteroid that crashed into the
Earth and annihilated the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.
The ancient evidence was found in North Dakota
and is the subject of a new documentary by naturalist
Sir David Attenborough and paleontologist Robert DePalma.
The ancient evidence was found in North Dakota
and is the subject of a new documentary by naturalist
Sir David Attenborough and paleontologist Robert DePalma.
CNN reports that tiny pieces of amber are believed
to contain vaporized asteroid dust from the
extinction-level event that wiped out the dinosaurs.
It gives a moment by moment story
of what happens right after impact
and you end up getting such a rich
resource for scientific investigation, Robert DePalma, paleontologist, via CNN.
The pieces of amber were found in the Hell Creek Formation which stretches over parts of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.
In that amber we’ve located a number of spherules that were basically frozen in time. They’re perfectly preserved, Robert DePalma, paleontologist, via CNN.
The Byte reports that the amber was found 2,000 miles away from the asteroid crater off the coast of Mexico believed to be the epicenter of the extinction event. .
The Byte reports that the amber was found 2,000 miles away from the asteroid crater off the coast of Mexico believed to be the epicenter of the extinction event. .
The team believes the Hell Creek site
is just close enough to the impact crater
to have been directly affected by the blast. .
Other fossils found in the area include fish
with traces of toxic debris in their gills, a turtle
impaled by a stick and a lone dinosaur leg.
While the findings have yet to be published in
a peer-reviewed journal, they could help shed light
on an event that forever altered the Earth.