Prehistoric Disasters Asteroid Impact Spring 2024
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Southeast Missouri State University *
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GO-150
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Geography
Date
Feb 20, 2024
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docx
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GO15O Earth Science Environmental Hazards: Prehistoric Disasters “ASTEROID STRIKE”
‘THE DAY THE DINOSAURS DIED’
NAME: Carlee Mercer
https://topdocumentaryfilms.com/asteroid-strike/
The lab last week was on reading the rock layers and the history of our planet like the pages of a book. This video highlights a past catastrophic Earth event recorded in the rock layers. Based on the video 65 million years ago an asteroid strike caused 70% of all life on Earth to go extinct. This is just one of the five mass extinctions recorded in the rock layers. Watch the video and answer the following questions based on the video. (15 Points) 1.
In the rock layers at the K-T boundary, also known as K-Pg boundary, which marks the location in the rocks where the extinction even occurred, paleontologists find the element iridium. According to the video, why does the presence of this element support an impact from space? Based on the video, explain why this element could not be used to locate the impact crater? (2 Points)
The presence of iridium gives element support for an impact from space due to the rarity of it in the Earth’s core, therefore this gives the presentation of extraterrestrial material. Iridium cannot be used to locate the impact crater because as the asteroid strike hits it is totally vaporized and thrown out around the whole world, meaning iridium would be everywhere. 2.
Based on the video, explain why when looking at the rocks around the impact site, the texture of the rocks makes it obvious that a very violent impact took place? (2 Points)
When looking at the rocks around the impact site the texture of the rocks makes it obvious that a very violent impact took place due to effects shown. The rocks were shocked and pulverized into individual mineral grains almost into the consistency of flour.
3.
Shocked quartz is quartz whose microscopic structure has become distorted due to a collision with something traveling thousands of miles per hour. Based on the video, explain how shocked quartz was used to help locate the impact crater? Be sure to include the name of the impact crater in your answer. (2 Points)
Shocked quartz was used to help locate the impact crater by looking at the K-T boundary finding the iridium that was caused by the asteroid and the shocked quartz in the same layer. Shocked quartz is quartz that has been smashed down by something extremely heavy travelling at thousands of miles per hour and only one catastrophe could have caused it.
4.
Sink holes and Karst topography help to locate the asteroid impact of 65 million years ago. Based on the video, explain how the sinkholes were used to find the impact crater. Include in your answer the approximate number of sinkholes from the video and how the shape or arrangement of all the sinkholes helped to locate the asteroid impact site. (2 Points
Sinkholes were helpful in finding the location of the impact crater from the many hundred cenotes surrounding the sight. The lines of fault in the cenotes could have come from an impact, and as evidence from satellite imaging the cenotes were in a semi-circle ring surrounding the impact sight. 5.
Based on the video, explain how the impact could have caused fires on the other side of the globe? (1 Points) The impact could have caused the fires on the other side of the globe because at impact the heat coming
of the asteroid would spread throughout the whole entire world as if it was the surface of the sun. 6.
Based on the video, explain why the impact location off the Mexican coast is considered one of the worst possible spots for an impact of such proportions. (2 Points) The impact location off the Mexican coast is considered one of the worst possible spots for an impact of this large proportion because it hit shallow seas causing debris to fly thousands of miles into the air spreading out as far as possible.
7.
From the video give four reasons why the primitive mammals survived, and the dinosaurs did not? (4 Points) The primitive mammals survived and the dinosaurs did not because of their evolving adaptations: they could fit into places dinosaurs couldn’t, adapted to being suited in inhospitable conditions, better at surviving natural disasters, and thrived due to the aftermath.
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