Yucatan asteroid samples in Cuba
- Submitted by: Luis Manuel Mazorra
- Science and Technology
- 11 / 18 / 2011
Research conducted by scientists from Cuba and Japan on the island found evidence of asteroid impact in Yucatan 65 million years ago.
Some of these geological formations up to 500 meters thick and were located in the foothills of the Organ and the Sierra del Rosario, Pinar del Rio and Matanzas points, both located in the western provinces of the island.
After 14 years of study, experts at the National Museum of Natural History and the Institute of Geology and Paleontology of Cuba and the University of Tokyo, asserted that these formations are evidence of having arisen as a result of large waves or tsunamis trains triggered by the collision.
One of the most visible traces of this important event is the presence of a layer rich in iridium, material scarce in terrestrial rocks, but abundant in meteorites and certain space bodies.
This impact, which allegedly caused the extinction of dinosaurs and other species on Earth, corresponds to the giant crater more than a mile deep, called Chicxulub, on the Mayan name of the locality where it was found in Yucatan.
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