A Massive Meteorite 4X Bigger Than Mt. Everest Crashed Into Earth And Sparked Life
When someone thinks of a meteorite these days, it often brings to mind events such as the one last month that was captured on dashcam video in Oregon. Thousands of people witnessed the event, as a bright fireball streaked across the night sky. Or perhaps the 4-inch by 6-inch meteorite that crashed through the roof of a New Jersey family’s home back in May of this year. But Earth has experienced much larger and more dangerous meteorites throughout its long history. Such is the case with the S2 meteorite that crashed into Earth more than three billion years ago.
In a study led by Nadja Drabon, an assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, the effects on the surface environment and life of a Paleoarchean impactor (S2 meteorite) was looked at in depth. The group noted the “impact caused a tsunami, partial ocean evaporation, and darkness that likely harmed shallow-water photosynthetic microbes in the short-term, while life in the deeper oceans and hyperthermophiles were less impacted.” The study also mentioned the impact probably released phosphorus into the environment, and the tsunami most likely brought iron-rich deep-water to the surface.
The researchers added that while the impacts probably had severe, albeit temporary, consequences for Earth’s surface environment, their effect on early life is still not well understood.
Drabon described what it might have been like if a human had experienced the S2 meteorite’s impact, remarking, “Picture yourself standing off the coast of Cape Cod, in a shelf of shallow water. It’s low-energy environment, without strong currents. Then all of a sudden, you have a giant tsunami, sweeping by and ripping up the sea floor.”
The S2 meteorite is believed to have been 200 times larger than the meteorite that is thought to have brought an end to dinosaurs. Drabon and the other researchers analysis unveiled a seasonal bloom of iron-metabolizing bacteria immediately following the impact. According to the researchers, this iron-favoring bacterial shift shows how complex life on Earth originated and evolved.
“We think of impact events as being disastrous for life,” Drabon remarked. “But what this study is highlighting is that these impacts would have had benefits to life, especially early on … these impacts might have actually allowed life to flourish.”
Anyone wishing to learn more about the study into the S2 meteorite’s impact and how it may have influenced life on Earth can read the the study in full on the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) website.
