New evidence adds to theory that a comet impact sparked a mini ice age on Earth
Researchers just discovered evidence that a huge firestorm caused by fragments of a 60-mile wide comet lead to a mini ice age on Earth.
An international team of scientists examined samples of rock and other deposits from over 170 sites around the world.
The group's findings, which were published in The Journal of Geology, stated that various chemical signatures showed that around 10% of earth's land surface was, at one point, "consumed by fires."
Fires of this scale would have sent a massive amount of dust and debris up into the air, cutting off sunlight and rapidly cooling the Earth, plunging it into a mini ice age.
Researchers also suggest that the impact would have depleted the ozone layer, which would have caused an increase in skin cancer, along with other negative health effects.
The theory about a comet kicking off a mini ice age isn’t actually a new one, but this new evidence adds a lot of support to the idea.
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