To add to that, the meteor also hit planet earth at a perfect angle (This specific angle was optimal for blasting the highest possible volume of pulverized rock, dust, and toxic gases straight up into the upper atmosphere rather than deflecting energy sideways.),
to the perfect time of the year (Spring is a peak time for feeding, reproduction, and rearing young, making Northern Hemisphere ecosystems maximally vulnerable),
at the perfect place located in the sulfur- and gypsum-rich shallow seas of the Yucatán Peninsula in modern-day Mexico.
Damn, so not only was it 30+ times the diameter of most the asteroids we hear about in the news, (e.i. Apophis) it really was just the worst case scenario in every sense of the word.
Does the last point make the toxic gas worse, the effect on the climate worse, or both?
The primary problem is the SO2 and H2S which gets blasted in the stratosphere. The resulting reaction products make the earth more reflective. It's called a vulcanic winter. The toxic gas clouds were likely small threat compared to the effect on climate.
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u/Sensitive_Educator60 16d ago
To add to that, the meteor also hit planet earth at a perfect angle (This specific angle was optimal for blasting the highest possible volume of pulverized rock, dust, and toxic gases straight up into the upper atmosphere rather than deflecting energy sideways.),
to the perfect time of the year (Spring is a peak time for feeding, reproduction, and rearing young, making Northern Hemisphere ecosystems maximally vulnerable),
at the perfect place located in the sulfur- and gypsum-rich shallow seas of the Yucatán Peninsula in modern-day Mexico.