(ANSA) – SANTIAGO DE CHILE, 13 AUGUST – Residues of the Chicxulub, the famous meteorite believed to have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs, have been found in Chilean Patagonia. The discovery – published in the scientific journal Cretaceous Research – places Cerro Guido and the valley of the Río de las Chinas, in the Magallanes region and Chilean Antarctica, as the southernmost place in America where the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary (K/Pg) is found, the event that occurred 66 million years ago and caused the death of 75% of life on the planet.
Leslie Manríquez, a researcher at the Chilean Antarctic Institute and the study’s leader, explained that an asteroid impact brings “a series of signals that are recorded in rocks such as microspherules, impact quartz, iridium anomaly, debris flow deposits and tsunami deposits.”
Previously, iridium samples had been studied on Seymour Island in Antarctica, but Manríquez and her team were able to demonstrate its existence in the Río de las Chinas valley. “This means that we have located the famous K/Pg boundary,” said the geologist, stressing that this important discovery will help us understand the climate changes caused by the asteroid impact. (ANSA).
2024-08-13 12:48:12