Scientists have made groundbreaking discoveries about our planet’s 300,000-year history, revealing six mind-blowing facts about Earth in 2024.
A massive asteroid impact 3.26 billion years ago is believed to have triggered a series of life-changing events on Earth. The S2 impact, estimated to be 50-200 times larger than the one that wiped out nonavian dinosaurs, devastated the planet and its early life forms. However, it also released essential nutrients into the ocean, paving the way for future organisms to thrive.
This catastrophic event may have seemed like a disaster at first, but it ultimately allowed certain bacteria to adapt and survive in ways that might not have been possible without the impact. These findings highlight the complex and dynamic history of our planet, revealing that even the most destructive events can sometimes lead to surprising benefits.
Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/6-wild-things-we-learned-about-earth-in-2024