Geologists have uncovered remnants from a giant space rock that could provide answers to what ignited an abundance of life on Earth. New research published on Monday, Oct. 21, reveals a giant space rock slammed into what’s now South Africa more than 3 billion years ago with one student researcher calling it a “fertilizer bomb” for life.
The study shows that a massive asteroid the size of Mt. Everest, smashed into Earth, boiling the ocean and creating a global tsunami. However, scientists said it didn’t lead to mass die-offs because life was very minimal still on Earth.
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Researchers believe that after the destructive impact it eventually stirred up the ingredients for more life with a combination of iron and phosphorus from the meteorite falling into the ocean.
Organisms quickly recovered and thrived greater than ever due to a massive increase in nutrients from the meteorite that eventually seeped into the ocean.
The study has spurred new interest in the environmental changes space rocks have brought to Earth. Billions of years ago, impacts from meteorites were much more common, and geologists hope the further study of crater impacts provides some answers to some of the mysteries of how life began on Earth.
