Has the diverse ecosystem on Earth been born from planetary collisions?

The results of an international scientific study show that the planet collision 470 million years ago created a layer of dust leading to the ice age and then led to the diversity of ecosystems on Earth.

A collision in the asteroid belt 470 million years ago led to a diverse ecosystem on Earth. This is the conclusion made in a study published in the September 18 issue of Science Advances.

A collision of 470 million years ago led to a diverse ecosystem on Earth.(Artwork: pbs.org).

The study, led by an international team of scientists, led by geologist Birger Schmitz at Lund University, unearthed a collision that broke a planet in the asteroid belt between Jupiter. and Mars, causing large amounts of dust to cover the entire interior of the Solar System. This amount of dust leads to an ice age and then to the diversity of ecosystems on Earth.

Scientists believe that the partial obstruction of the sunlight from sunlight to the Earth led to the formation of an ice age, and the climate on the Earth changed from relatively homogeneous to divided into gas regions. The climate varies from cold weather in extremes to tropical weather in equatorial regions. At that time, invertebrates evolved diversely to adapt to the new climate.

The team also discovered atmospheric helium isotopes in undersea sediments in southern Sweden. Accordingly, the dust from the aforementioned planetary collision during its journey to Earth absorbed helium every time there was the impact of the solar wind.

Some scientists suggest that asteroids, such as satellites, can enter the Earth's orbit to make continuous collisions that emit dust that blocks some of the sunlight from hitting Earth. that could cool the Earth in the context of global warming.