This book tells the story of the catastrophic impact of the giant 10 Km asteroid Chicxulub into the ancient Gulf of Mexico 65.5 million years ago. The book begins with a discussion of the nature of asteroids and the likelihood of future Earth-impacts. The story then turns to the discovery of a global sediment layer attributed to the fallout from the impact and a piecing together of the evidence that revealed a monster crater, buried under the Gulf. Reviewed is the myriad of geological and fossil evidence that suggested the disastrous sequence of events occurring when a "nuclear-like" explosion ripped through the sea, Earth, and atmosphere, thus forming the mega-crater and tsunami. The aftermath of the Chicxulub's event initiated decades and more of major global climate changes including a "Nuclear Winter" of freezing darkness and blistering greenhouse warming. A chapter is dedicated to the science of tsunamis and their model generation, including a portrayal of the globally rampaging Chicxulub waves.

The asteroid's global devastation killed off some 70% of animal and plant life including the dinosaurs. The study of an ancient Cambrian fossil bed suggests how "roll of the dice" events can affect the future evolution of life on Earth. We see how Chicxulub's apparent destruction of the dinosaurs, followed by the their replacement with small mammals, altered forever the progress of human evolution. This book presents a fascinating glimpse through the lens of the natural sciences - the geology, climatology, and oceanography, of the effects of an enormous astronomical event.

Discusses the basic science behind the understanding of asteroids and tsunamis, phenomena recently demonstrated to pose real threats to the Earth and not well understood by the general public Describes both the science and technology needed to study asteroids and tsunamis, nurturing curiosity, and spurring increased interest in oceanography, chemistry, and astronomy Provides a perspective on the idea of how evolutionary processes can be altered by chance happenings of Astro or geophysical phenomena, specifically the severe environmental effects upon Earth's biota as a result of Chicxulub's impact Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Autorentext

David Shonting earned a B.S. and M.S. in chemistry from the University of New Hampshire and the ScD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He served as research assistant at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, as a physical oceanographer at the Naval Underwater Systems Center, Newport, RI and as adjunct professor at the University of Rhode Island. He helped to initiate and develop the Oceanography and Ocean Engineering programs at Southeast Massachusetts University. Dr. Shonting also conducted research at the NATO Undersea Research Centre in La Spazia, Italy and has consulted in Admiralty Law and environmental programs Cathy Ezrailson is currently an associate professor of science education at the University of South Dakota. She earned her B.S. in Earth Science from Ashland University, her M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction: Science Education at the University of Houston, and her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction: Physics Education from Texas A&M University. She has taught physics, geology, and physical science. And was awarded the Presidential Award Excellence in Math and Science Teaching from Texas in 2000. She gives local, national and international presentations and workshops for teachers and students. She now consults widely on classroom, lab and field safety.

Inhalt

Preface.- Prologue: the arrival.- Chapter 1: The orbiting objects.- Chapter 2: The tale of chicxulub.- Chapter 3: A scenario for the chicxulub impact and energies.- Chapter 4: The chicxulub tsunami.- Chapter 5: Long term global effects.- Epilogue: Possible chicxulub effects on the path of human evolution.