About 66 million years ago, the Earth was filled with huge waves of tsunami, with a height of over four kilometers.
They crossed the entire planet in just two days, according to researchers at the University of Michigan.
This catastrophe is considered the main cause of the disappearance of dinosaurs, being triggered by the impact of the chicxulub asteroid. This cosmic body, with a diameter of about 14 kilometers, hit the Yucatán peninsula at a speed of 43.5 km/h. The impact caused massive damage: acid rain, forest fires, a gigantic tsunami, followed by a global cooling.
The simulations show that, just a few minutes after the collision, which formed a crater with a diameter of 180 kilometers, a cloud of dust and soot rose in the atmosphere.
The authors of the study explain that the tsunami was so strong that it disturbed the sedimentary deposits of the ocean basins, leaving gaps in geological records or deteriorating older layers. In the Gulf of Mexico, the initial waves reached a height of up to 4.5 kilometers.
After the collapse of the first huge wave, a new one, 1.5 kilometers high, 220 kilometers away from the place of impact. The waves were then propagated in the North Atlantic, the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, and after two days they met in the Indian Ocean, the Techinsider portal reports.
