Researchers Find 52-Foot-High 'Megaripples' Created by 66 Million-Year-Old Tsunami Buried Deep Beneath Louisiana
Chicxulub asteroid changed the complete face of Earth. It wiped out the dinosaurs and forced ecosystems to rearrange themselves. A team of researchers closely examined one more effect of this asteroid, stated Live Science. Findings regarding this examination were published in Marine Geology.
The study focussed on 'megaripples,' a phenomenon that facilitated in the seafloor due to the impact created by the Chicxulub asteroid. Megaripples are seafloor bedforms composed of sand or gravel and created due to currents, stated ASLO. The study claimed that the asteroid led to the formation of one-mile-tall tsunamis, which raced toward present-day Louisiana. The region which was mostly underwater 66 million years ago witnessed the peak of this particular tsunami.
The team associated with the study analyzed seismic data gathered by the oil and natural gas company Devon Energy and found proof of the effect caused by this tsunami on Louisiana in the form of 52-foot-tall 'megaripples,' stated Popular Mechanics. These megaripples were spotted one mile underground. Researchers associated it with the Chicxulub asteroid because that region beneath the earth belongs to the end-Cretaceous period.
Later analysis showcased that these megaripples are spaced up by one kilometer. They are present both in the upper shelf of Central Louisiana and further downwards in the Gulf of Mexico. The team claims that the megaripples are spread across a 900-square-mile area. Experts claim that the features of megaripples vary by the impact produced by the then-tsunami at various points of the paleo-shelf. "The megaripples are different on the slope, at the shelf break, and further up the shelf," University of Louisiana at Lafayette geoscientist, Gary Kinsland shared. "This is important information in modeling of tsunamis, in prediction of future tsunami interactions with shelves, and in the understanding of the Chicxulub tsunami."
The study explains that the largest megaripples are created on the paleo-shelf break. They claim as the tsunami travelled inland, they created megaripples which were weakly asymmetric. This means that the tsunami's behavior changed in shallower waters. "From the coverage of the three areas here in Louisiana we infer that the buried northern Gulf of Mexico shelf system, from Texas to Florida, is covered with megaripples from at least the paleo-slope up to the paleo-bathymetry where Gulf storms would have eroded the megaripples after their formation,” the team shared.
Though experts believe that the megaripples were a result of the Chicxulub asteroid, they are yet to zero in on the method that led to their formation, stated Live Science. They have come up with certain speculations, but do not have anything concrete to validate them. "The ripples must be formed by deformation of the mass of the material," Kinsland explained regarding a possible theory. "An analogy is the ripples formed in the process of making whipped cream, which produces ripples which stand after having been pushed into ripple shapes."
Researchers believe the study will aid them in understanding the widespread impact of the Chicxulub asteroid and also be prepared for similar occurrences in the future. "We track asteroids now and should be able to predict future impacts," Kinsland said. "Understanding the worldwide impact effects will help us prepare if we see one coming which we cannot deflect."