How can asteroids change the earth’s climate

Sunlight completely disappears for a month or so after a collision with a one-kilometer object; a kilometer object might block out the sun for a year or more. Temperatures drop, and there is no light for photosynthesis. Plants die, animals die. Animals that happen to live underground, where roots and other food sources are not destroyed, have a relatively good chance of survival.

It unleashes billions of tons of sulfur-laden dust, some of it from the comet itself, some of it from sulfur-rich rocks that may lie beneath the impact point. The heat of the impact also creates nitrogen oxides. The sulfurous stuff and nitrogen oxides make a corrosive acid rain that strips bare any surviving vegetation. The acid rain runs into the oceans and kills marine organisms, especially along the continental shelves.

The impact and subsequent fires also release a tremendous amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. After the initial impact winter is all over, there is so much carbon dioxide in the air that a centuries-long greenhouse effect may result. Either way, the consequences were so dire that it is a wonder that any species survived at all. Biggest extinction in history caused by climate-changing meteor , University of Western Australia. Toggle navigation Home.

Meteorite and Asteroid Strikes as Causes of Climate Changes Meteor and Asteroid Strikes as Causes of Climate Change Most meteors and asteroids burn up in the earth's atmosphere incinerating all or most of the incoming material before reaching the Earth's surface. The world is warming and the climate is changing. Although many want to prevent these shifts by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases that trap heat from the sun, some controversially suggest deliberating manipulating the planet's climate with large-scale engineering projects, commonly called geoengineering.

Instead of altering the climate by targeting either the oceans or the atmosphere , some researchers have suggested geoengineering projects that would affect the entire planet from space.

For instance, projects that reduced the amount of solar radiation Earth receives by 1. This is not the case One proposal to shade the Earth from the sun would place giant mirrors in space. The main problem with this concept is the immense cost and effort needed either to build and launch such reflectors or to construct them in outer space — the current cost to launch an object into low Earth orbit runs into thousands of dollars per pound.

Pierazzo, E. Kawaragi, K. Earth Planet. Download references. You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar.

Chicxulub drilling project. Reprints and Permissions. Nayar, A. Asteroid impact may have gassed Earth. Nature Download citation. Published : 13 May