An anomalous amount of platinum has been found in layers of ash and soot.
Scientists It has long been known that 13 thousand years ago a large-scale catastrophe occurred on Earth, but its causes could only be guessed at. Now new data have appeared that shed light on this issue, reports the Chronicle.info with reference to Channel 24.
A large-scale study started in 2018. His goal was to test the hypothesis that in the early dryas the Earth was the victim of a catastrophic impact of a giant comet.
What did they find out
- This event happened 13,000 years ago, when the planet had already left the glaciation period, but suddenly froze again for a couple of centuries.
- The reason was known before — the filling of the atmosphere with an incredible amount of dust and ash. However, it was not clear what caused them.
- The previous version of the cause is the eruption of the supervolcano Laach in the territory of modern Germany. Then the nearby lands were covered with a layer of ash about 50 meters thick.
- However, a new study has discovered in the mythology of the ancient peoples indications of a comet impact that caused an incredible fire.
- According to calculations, then 10 million square kilometers, or about 9 percent of the entire biomass of the planet, burned down, and living conditions for the already more than reasonable human tribes have changed dramatically, which could not but affect their culture.
Other studies have revealed an anomalous amount of platinum in the layers of ash and soot. This element is often found in comets and asteroids.
The sediment layer itself contains many biomass combustion products such as ammonium and nitrate. The study of preserved pollen samples showed that vast pine forests were destroyed immediately, and poplars, well adapted to such conditions, settled the devastated lands.
Scientists believe that this ancient comet had a diameter of about 100 kilometers< /strong>. It probably broke apart, and its remnants are still in the solar system.