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Meteor strike
created life, says study
Vancouver - Meteor strikes may have led to
the extinction of some life on Earth, but they may have also
contributed to the creation of life, according to a study
released on Monday.
Geologists researching the crater left when the Haughton
meteor slammed into what is now Canada's Arctic 23 million
years ago found the impact created hydrothermal springs in
the cracked rock and other conditions that would have made
it easier for microbes to survive and evolve.
The impact of a meteor hitting the Earth may have caused the
extinction of the dinosaurs, according to some theories that
say it sparked huge fires and a gigantic dust cloud.
"Most people put impacts with mass extinction... What we're
trying to say is that following the impact, the impact sites
are actually more favourable than the surrounding terrain,"
said Gordon Osinski, of the Canadian Space Agency.
| 'Most people
put impacts with mass extinction...' |
Researchers found
that in addition to hydrothermal springs, meteor impacts
would have allowed microbes easier access to minerals in a
protected environment.
Osinski noted that the heaviest meteor bombardment of Earth
happened about 3,8 billion years ago, around the same time
that life on the planet is believed to have started.
The researchers reported their study on Monday in Calgary,
Alberta, during a joint meeting of the Geological Society of
America and the Geological Association of Canada.
The Haughton crater on Devon Island in Canada's Nunavut
Territory is often used by researchers looking at methods to
aid the search for life on Mars.
Published on the Web by IOL on
2005-08-10 08:57:03
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