66 million years ago an asteroid has hit what would be Mexico's east coast. This asteroid would kill off the dinosaurs and most other living things during that time. While the crater that was left has provided much information about the event, it has become useful as well in giving some information about another event. The crater that killed the dinosaurs also provide clues to Ice Age sea levels.
Scientists were at Chicxulub crater, the site where the asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs had disintegrated. They were looking for clues as to how the event happened when they chanced upon clues for another event. They came upon evidence that the sea has been much further during the Ice Age than it is now.
Much of the Chicxulub crater is now under the sea. Back during the Ice Age though the crater was much exposed. Study leader Jaime Urrutia, President of the Mexican Academy of Science, said that they have discovered a circular structure at the bottom of the sea. He added that the structure could only be formed if carbonate dissolves, and it can only be dissolved if exposed to air.
With the finding, it has been estimated that the Yucatan Peninsula has been much larger, according to Phys Org. The area is being worked on by an international team of scientists. For two months since April they have dug 1.5 kilometers and have taken around six tons of rock.
Much of the crater is still being studied. There is still much to know about it, such as how the peak rings have been formed, as The Express Tribune reports. These peak rings are unique to the crater. The granite has been moved up by the impact caused when the asteroid collided, but were not heated up as would be expected in such an event.
The crater that killed the dinosaurs also provide clues to Ice Age sea levels. Much of the crater has yet to be studied, as it could give more information about the events during the dinosaurs' extinction and other events on Earth. Earlier the crater has also been studied to see how it has formed areas that has nurtured life.
