What if meteorites fall into the ocean?

Referring to the falling meteorite, we must think of the disaster that caused the dinosaurs to become extinct. However, that is only the exception, because the meteor block at that time, if this hypothesis is correct, must have a diameter of up to a hundred kilometers.

So if a smaller meteorite, with only a few hundred meters in diameter, falls into the ocean, what will happen. This scenario is not far away, because in 2036, the Apophis meteorite with a diameter of 270m can fall into the Pacific Ocean. This meteorite has an effect of 26,000 times the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Today we will find the answer to this problem, based on recent results from the simulation model at Los Alamos National Laboratory (USA).

Because 70% of the Earth's surface is water, the "meteorite that falls into the ocean" is a reasonable hypothesis, and is more likely.

If on the ground, meteorite falls create a large hole that can swallow the whole city.(Artwork: Internet).

If on the ground, meteorite falls create a large hole that can swallow the whole city, then with the ocean, the meteorite will have 2 impacts: (1) causing the water volume in the collision area with shock waves emitted around, and (2) steam evaporates in front of the heat of meteorites due to friction with the atmosphere. We will explore each factor and consider their influence.

1. The volume of water in the impact area with shock waves emitted around

Although the meteorite that falls into the ocean can produce huge, massive waves hundreds or even kilometers high, but unless the collision occurs relatively close to shore, the simulation results show little The possibility of it causing a tsunami devastated the coast.

Computer simulation of meteorite spectacle falling into the ocean.

That's because shock waves from meteorite collisions are relatively short. This means that the amount of water splashed around from the impact area will not spread too far, too wide.

If the collision is within a 10-20km radius of a crowded coastline, the consequences will be incalculable: severe flooding, shock waves in the air, sudden increase in temperature and windy winds appear.

2. Evaporation of steam before the heat of meteorite due to friction with the atmosphere

The heat from meteorites due to friction with the atmosphere can evaporate millions of tons of water. In one simulation, the amount of water evaporates to 250 million tons. This amount of water will even enter the stratosphere, and remain there for months, even years.

Like CO ₂ , water vapor is also a greenhouse gas, thus contributing to global warming.

This experiment has only been applied to small diameter asteroids, commonly found in the solar system. In general, at that size, they create large waves but are still less dangerous. The darkest scenario, as shown above, is the meteorite that falls near the coast. While affecting the geology, creating tsunamis hundreds of meters, it will be a terrible disaster.

This research has just been presented at the American Geophysical Union conference in San Francisco (USA).

Video simulating the spectacle of meteorite falling into the ocean.