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Explore the fascinating theories surrounding the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs and contemplate humanity's chances of survival in the face of a similar catastrophic event.
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00:00Are you sure that it was an asteroid that caused the extinction of dinosaurs?
00:04There's this huge drama about why these horrifying creatures disappeared.
00:08It's a big deal in both science and movies.
00:11But what really happened to the dinos?
00:14How do scientists figure it out?
00:16And why does it even matter?
00:17Let's see.
00:19Let's take a trip back to England in 1842.
00:23There was a scientist named Sir Richard Owen.
00:26He was checking out some huge reptile fossils and noticed that three of them,
00:31Megalosaurus, Iguanodon, and Hyliosaurus, had a lot in common.
00:36So he had this lightbulb moment and decided to combine all these creatures into Dinosauria,
00:42which means terrible lizards in Greek.
00:48The scientists were studying dinosaurs and grouping them based on their looks.
00:52But then Charles Darwin showed up.
00:55And gave even a better idea.
00:57Turns out, species don't just appear out of thin air.
01:00They evolve.
01:01And now, everyone had to rethink how they were defining dinosaurs.
01:06They came up with a new idea called phylogenetic classification.
01:10Picture a big family tree with all creatures ever.
01:14Somewhere up there, we find Megalosaurus and Iguanodon.
01:17And we say all dino descendants come from their common ancestor.
01:21It's like tracing back your family tree.
01:24And if we go far enough, we find the ultimate dino ancestor.
01:29Sounds like a plan.
01:30But then, things got a bit complicated.
01:33When we talk about Dinos, we've got the ones with feathers and beaks and the ones without.
01:38That's when we found out that birds are cousins to certain dinosaurs.
01:43Maybe even evolved from them.
01:48After learning that, scientists had to look at the bird family tree and rethink the dino definition.
01:54In the end, they decided that birds are kind of dinosaurs, but not exactly.
01:58Confusing, huh?
02:00But in any case, now we have two groups.
02:03The first one is birds.
02:05And the other one is non-avian dinosaurs, which are extinct.
02:10That means now we have to reconsider our question.
02:13Instead of asking what caused the extinction of dinosaurs, it should be what caused the extinction of non-good dinos.
02:22The answer might seem simple.
02:24People often think of a gigantic space rock as the dino destroyer.
02:28It's probably the first thing that pops into your mind.
02:31And even Google and other search engines agree on this one, like best friends copying each other's homework.
02:41History teaches us that about 66 million years ago, dinosaurs totally vanished.
02:47Except for the ones that became birds.
02:50Of course, the truth is more complicated.
02:53And not all dinos vanished in one go.
02:56Some went the natural way.
02:58And there were many extinctions here and there during their time on Earth.
03:02But the big event we're talking about looks like a movie scene change.
03:06Like suddenly changing the channel on a TV.
03:09One poof.
03:11And the Earth went from the time of dinosaurs to the time of mammals.
03:16Scientists call these time periods the Cretaceous and Paleogen.
03:21We even give this special event a nickname.
03:23The KPG or KT Extinction.
03:26Some even refer to it as the 65 million years ago event.
03:31Even though the more correct number is 66 million years ago.
03:36We've got two main theories in the spotlight.
03:39Asteroids crashing and volcanoes erupting like crazy.
03:46Let's talk about the asteroid idea.
03:49So, around 66 million years back.
03:52Imagine a humongous asteroid smacking into Earth.
03:56This thing was about 6 miles wide.
03:58About as big as Mount Everest.
04:00It zoomed through the sky super fast.
04:03Like a mountain going a hundred times the speed of sound.
04:06And when it hit, it released a ton of energy.
04:09It crashed down in what's now southern Mexico.
04:11Near a spot that's tied to the dinosaur extinction story.
04:15Chiculub crater.
04:17Everything close to the impact was zapped into vapor in a snap.
04:21Picture the biggest energy burst in ages.
04:24Like a billion years or more.
04:25Nothing near the crash site stood a chance.
04:28Next, there was the aftershock.
04:31As the fireball cooled down, the Earth's surface went bonkers.
04:36The ground twisted and shook, causing unimaginable earthquakes.
04:41The continents became huge, bouncy castles.
04:48And then, the stuff that got blasted up by the impact came raining back down like a rainstorm.
04:54Even if you weren't near the huge pieces falling in Mexico,
04:58you'd get hit by these smaller, super hot bits flying through the air.
05:02This made the air so toasty that forests burst into flames all around the world.
05:07Are you ready for more?
05:08Time for a massive tsunami.
05:10The ocean floor got all churned up, pushing waves inland around the Gulf of Mexico.
05:15But just imagine, even all that wasn't enough to destroy all the dinosaurs.
05:20For example, dinos in New Zealand were pretty fine.
05:24But we know that they all went extinct.
05:26So what happened to them?
05:28They felt a little rumble.
05:30And suddenly, the sky started getting all dark and gloomy, as if it was nighttime.
05:35And hold up, what's that?
05:37A blanket of ash is slowly creeping around the whole planet.
05:45Now, here's where the real drama happens.
05:48The big problem with the asteroid crash wasn't the instant boom, you might think.
05:53It's all about the long-term effects.
05:55Imagine the stuff that got blasted up into the sky blocking the sunlight.
05:59Days turn into nights, and temperatures drop very sharply.
06:03A lot of plant-eating dinosaurs passed away, and hunters were having a great feast, but
06:08not for too long.
06:09Without sunshine, the food chain falls apart very quickly.
06:13Then, the ash falls back to Earth.
06:16Things go from bad to worse.
06:18Other nasty stuff starts floating around in the air like carbon dioxide.
06:23This carbon dioxide mixed with shattered seafloor bits makes the temperature go wild.
06:28The Earth was playing hot and cold all at once.
06:30That's when somewhere between 50 and 80% of dinosaurs said goodbye forever.
06:36What's even more sad is that this number only counts the species themselves.
06:40If we look at the number of individual animal lives lost, it's even higher.
06:48You might think that at least the poor mammals finally got their chance after the dinos left.
06:53But even mammals had a tough time.
06:55We are very lucky that a few brave mammals managed to survive this crazy chaos.
07:00The ones who made it were like the little champs with speedy energy systems, flexible diets, or secret hideouts.
07:07But this story is only one hypothesis.
07:10Next, we have the volcanism hypothesis.
07:14Volcanoes.
07:15These fiery mountains are used to spitting out molten rock and causing epic destruction.
07:19But surprisingly, this theory isn't about explosive eruptions.
07:24Nope.
07:24It's about something sneakier and slower.
07:27Around a million years before the dino doom, there's this big change happening under the Earth's surface.
07:33Way below where India's floating, a rock river starts forming, heating things up.
07:38And then, India gets hit hard.
07:41It turns into a sea of lava, like a fiery ocean.
07:45It's like a gazillion of dump trucks filled with lava slowly pouring out.
07:51These solidified leftovers are known as the Deccan Traps,
07:55like a super deep layer of hard lava covering a piece of land the size of France.
08:04And, just like in our asteroid story, the real trouble comes from the air.
08:10For hundreds of thousands of years, sulfur dioxide spread like an unstoppable shadow.
08:16It was making the sky gloomy and the rain toxic.
08:20Food sources turned into poison.
08:23And oceans became acid baths.
08:25And then, carbon dioxide took the stage.
08:28It was like a temperature button, flipping the Earth's climate upside down.
08:33It was a rollercoaster of chaos.
08:35The ecosystems were stressed, food chains snapped, and species waved goodbye one by one.
08:42Both theories seemed pretty realistic.
08:44All the experts were having a big debate about which theory was correct and why the dinos disappeared.
08:50So, what is the real answer?
08:54Unfortunately, we don't know.
08:57Some scientists support one theory, some support the other one.
09:01And we're left scratching our heads.
09:04But hey, don't be too hard on the media or the scientists.
09:07They're all doing their best to figure out the mystery of the dinosaur's disappearance.
09:12And maybe one day, we'll finally learn the real answer.
09:15So, stay tuned.
09:21So, theoretically, humans can survive an asteroid that has the potential to destroy entire planets.
09:27It won't be a walk in the park, though.
09:29Let's go back in time to 66 million years ago, in the late Cretaceous period.
09:34The Earth, before humans, where dinosaurs are thriving.
09:37The plants and animals are rich and diverse.
09:39You'd see a T-Rex chasing a Triceratops.
09:42Or the massive Alamosaurus, one of the biggest animals to ever roam the planet, towering over the landscape.
09:49In Texas, they remember the Alamosaurus.
09:52And watch out for the Ankylosaurus, a living tank swinging its tail like a wrecking ball at any threat.
09:58But as you're about to enjoy a quiet evening under the stars, a bright new light appears in the sky
10:05of the Northern Hemisphere.
10:07Now, a new star in the sky doesn't really stand out at first.
10:11It's just twinkling like the rest.
10:13But give it a few hours, and you'll notice it's getting brighter.
10:17Check again the next night, and boom!
10:19It's the brightest thing in the sky, outshining planets and even the moon.
10:24Then finally, it horrifyingly outshines the sun.
10:27The star was the Chicxulub asteroid, which left a gigantic crater now called Chicxulub Crater in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.
10:36The asteroid enters the Earth's atmosphere at a blistering 12.5 miles per second.
10:41It blasts through 60 miles of the atmosphere in about 3 seconds.
10:45It falls so fast that even the air can't get out of its way.
10:50The air gets squashed and heats up to thousands of degrees in a blink.
10:53Before the asteroid even touches the ground, this super-hot air has already vaporized much of the sea where it's
11:00about to strike, near the Yucatan Peninsula.
11:03Then, in a flash, the asteroid smashes into the Earth, screaming over Central America with a loud boom that echoes
11:10everywhere.
11:11It doesn't just smash the ground, it makes the soil and rock flow like liquid.
11:16The asteroid digs a hole so wide and deep that it nearly touches Earth's inner layers and throws up dirt
11:23more than 20 miles high.
11:25At that exact moment of impact, the asteroid also turns its massive speed and weight into heat in a split
11:31second.
11:32It puts so much energy into the Earth that it makes molecules move faster than the surface of the Sun.
11:38This massive energy created a giant ball of plasma, super-hot charged gas that includes bits of vaporized rock.
11:46This all shot out at incredible speeds.
11:49The shockwave from the impact and the heat turned the Earth around the crash site into gas instantly.
11:55This set off earthquakes all around the world.
12:00And it's not just the rocks flying around that you need to worry about.
12:04As they plummet through the sky, they rub against the air, heating up so much that they set fires all
12:10around the world.
12:11The heat they give off could be compared to an oven cranked up to its highest setting.
12:16This fiery shower causes most of the world's trees to burn down.
12:20The entire world is now on fire.
12:23Soon, it changes everything.
12:24In a blink, dinosaurs were wiped out, making way for mammals to rise.
12:29And not only dinosaurs, 75% of species and big creatures disappeared, leaving behind only some small birds and critters.
12:38So, how could you, a human, survive something like that?
12:44Now, some animals made it back then.
12:47To survive, we need to learn from their resilience.
12:50The only birds that survive even in the toughest conditions are the ones nesting safely on the ground.
12:56Among the few larger animals that manage to dodge extinction, all have ways to deal with the heat.
13:02Some, like certain small mammals, snakes, and lizards, can dig themselves into cooler underground burrows.
13:09Others, like crocodiles and turtles, just hide in the water.
13:12So, if you're exactly on the other side of the planet when the strike happens, and you act super fast,
13:18you might just make it.
13:20Right now, the impact is about 10,000 miles away.
13:23But don't underestimate its power.
13:25As soon as you hear the loud boom, head underground as quickly as you can.
13:30And be careful, because you'll feel the Earth shake about 30 minutes later.
13:34Hide in a deep cave, preferably with a narrow entrance.
13:38It would protect you from the falling debris, and the temperatures underground would be stable.
13:43Also, some caves have natural water sources, rivers, or streams.
13:47You might also prepare for the not-so-great diet of insects, fungi, or yum, poor small animals that also
13:55seek refuge in the cave system.
13:56But it's better than nothing.
13:58You also need to be extremely far away from any large bodies of water.
14:03Being near the ocean might seem like a safe bet during a massive asteroid impact, because the sea can buffer
14:09extreme temperature changes.
14:10But the earthquakes trigger terrifying tsunamis, even in lakes or fjords.
14:15The asteroid's crash sets off not just one tsunami, but many.
14:20And they're as tall as skyscrapers.
14:22Within an hour, colossal waves between 600 and 1,000 feet high hit the Gulf Coast,
14:27slamming into places like Mexico and the southern United States, and flooding miles inland.
14:33These waves are so powerful, they even push rivers backward.
14:37These tsunamis continue around coastlines, reaching the east coast of the United States.
14:42And six hours later, they hit Europe, Africa, and the Mediterranean.
14:47By 15 hours after the impact, there isn't a coastline on Earth that hasn't felt the wrath of these waves.
14:53Well, let's say you survived the initial impact somewhere deep underground.
14:58But your troubles have only begun.
15:01The Chicxulub asteroid strikes a region loaded with sulfur.
15:04This sends 100 billion tons of sulfur and an enormous amount of water into the sky.
15:10The water vapor forms massive storm clouds.
15:13They start to rain acid.
15:14In colder places, huge snowstorms bury the land under feet of snow each day.
15:19The impact also vaporizes massive amounts of oil, throwing up 150 football stadiums worth of it into the air.
15:27This oil turns into a thick black soot in the stratosphere.
15:31It coats the Earth like black paint.
15:33And even when the acid rain calms down, this carbon stays up above the clouds and doesn't wash away.
15:40This sooty layer blocks out 90% of sunlight, plunging the Earth into a cold darkness that lasts for at
15:47least three years.
15:48The world cools down by about 50 degrees on average.
15:52Now, when you finally leave your deep cave, you must look for places where you won't freeze.
15:59The only spots spared from the frost are tropical islands like Madagascar, India, which was an island back then, and
16:07Indonesia.
16:08These places have surviving plants and animals, and they even continue to get fresh water, unlike most of the world.
16:15Everything else in the world looks like a huge nuclear wasteland.
16:19These tropical islands are safe spots during an asteroid apocalypse, but don't think of them as paradise.
16:25These places still only get about 10% of their usual sunlight and barely enough rain to avoid turning into
16:31deserts.
16:32In this chilly, gloomy setting, most food chains fall apart.
16:36If you want to survive, you'll need to bring lots of extra food with you, for the next six years
16:42at least.
16:43Now, some things are lucky enough to survive.
16:46Fossils tell us that freshwater ecosystems did well, so staying close to a river or estuary might be your best
16:53shot at finding food.
16:54You could come across turtles, crocodiles, and some fish.
16:58Animals like clams, snails, and small crustaceans that live in the sediment also manage to hang on.
17:04And, while a bit warmer than everything else, these places are no walk in the park.
17:10You'd need to pack warm clothes to have any chance of survival.
17:13Now, if we add all this together, the best spot for surviving the Cixxulub asteroid would be Indonesia.
17:20It's a mountainous, tropical country that consists of several islands.
17:24There, you'll find bearable temperatures, a bit of rainwater, and a deep cave for shelter.
17:29This could protect you from the falling tektites, the intense heat, and even help you find something to eat in
17:35the rivers and lakes.
17:37But if you stumble upon any shrew-like creatures while scavenging for food, time traveler, please let them be.
17:44It's not clear how many survived the Cixxulub impact, and eating one could have unforeseen effects on the future of
17:51humanity.
17:52Like, don't eat your great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, right?
17:55See you next time.
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