Some species in the Southern Hemisphere survived the asteroid strike that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago because they were hibernating or buried underground to escape cold weather, researchers believe.
The Chicxulub asteroid hit what is now the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico during springtime in the north, a catastrophic event that wiped out 76 per cent of all species including dinosaurs and ammonites, according to a new study in the journal Nature.
The timing of the strike had a profound effect on animal populations as the Northern Hemisphere was hit at a crucial period in the breeding cycle, researchers said.
Ecosystems in the Southern Hemisphere, where it was autumn, recovered up to twice as fast compared with the north, where animals were on the surface foraging for food, reproducing and rearing their young.
Researchers believe that some birds and crocodile species in the Southern Hemisphere survived the impact of the 12-kilometre-wide asteroid and the resulting nuclear winter and were able to spread to other parts of the world.
“If you were on the surface when the meteorite strikes, you were likely to be killed,” said Melanie During, of Uppsala University in Sweden, one of the authors of the paper. “The reign of the dinosaurs ended in spring.”
The immediate impact of the meteorite strike was felt up to 3,500 kilometres away and included tsunamis and large-scale forest fires.
Slivers of molten rock were blasted into space by the impact of the asteroid before crystallising and raining back to Earth as deadly glassy bullets.
Researchers studied the remains of filter-feeding sturgeon and paddlefish in North Dakota, United States, that died within an hour of the asteroid strike after the shards clogged their gills during a river surge.
“This deposit literally looks like a car crash frozen in place. It looks like the most violent thing I have seen preserved in pristine conditions,” Ms During said.
Researchers from Sweden, the Netherlands, UK, France and Belgium used carbon dating and analysed bone growth patterns of the fish to conclude that the asteroid hit around April, when springtime temperatures were similar to today.
“To be able to fight the nuclear winter you first need to survive the actual impact,” Ms During said.
“If hibernating, that increased your chances. If you sealed yourself in a burrow or sheltered underwater, that could help you. Anybody in the Southern Hemisphere already sheltering had a much better chance of surviving.”
The mass extinction was likely to have unfolded over several thousand years, with rapid climate change triggered by the meteorite strike.
QUARTER-FINAL
Wales 20-19 France
Wales: T: Wainwright, Moriarty. Cons: Biggar (2) Pens: Biggar 2
France: T: Vahaamahina, Ollivon, Vakatawa Cons: Ntamack (2)
Other key dates
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Finals draw: December 2
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Finals (including semi-finals and third-placed game): June 5–9, 2019
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Euro 2020 play-off draw: November 22, 2019
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Euro 2020 play-offs: March 26–31, 2020
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Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
McLaren GT specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 620bhp
Torque: 630Nm
Price: Dh875,000
On sale: now
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
LIGUE 1 FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday
Nice v Angers (9pm)
Lille v Monaco (10.45pm)
Saturday
Montpellier v Paris Saint-Germain (7pm)
Bordeaux v Guingamp (10pm)
Caen v Amiens (10pm)
Lyon v Dijon (10pm)
Metz v Troyes (10pm)
Sunday
Saint-Etienne v Rennes (5pm)
Strasbourg v Nantes (7pm)
Marseille v Toulouse (11pm)
The figures behind the event
1) More than 300 in-house cleaning crew
2) 165 staff assigned to sanitise public areas throughout the show
3) 1,000 social distancing stickers
4) 809 hand sanitiser dispensers placed throughout the venue
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Where can I submit a sample?
Volunteers can now submit DNA samples at a number of centres across Abu Dhabi. The programme is open to all ages.
Collection centres in Abu Dhabi include:
- Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC)
- Biogenix Labs in Masdar City
- Al Towayya in Al Ain
- NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City
- Bareen International Hospital
- NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain
- NMC Royal Medical Centre - Abu Dhabi
- NMC Royal Women’s Hospital.
Pakistan Super League
Previous winners
2016 Islamabad United
2017 Peshawar Zalmi
2018 Islamabad United
2019 Quetta Gladiators
Most runs Kamran Akmal – 1,286
Most wickets Wahab Riaz –65
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Leap of Faith
Michael J Mazarr
Public Affairs
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THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
The fake news generation
288,000 – the number of posts reported as hate speech that were deleted by Facebook globally each month in May and June this year
11% – the number of Americans who said they trusted the news they read on Snapchat as of June 2017, according to Statista. Over a quarter stated that they ‘rarely trusted’ the news they read on social media in general
31% - the number of young people in the US aged between 10 and 18 who said they had shared a news story online in the last six months that they later found out was wrong or inaccurate
63% - percentage of Arab nationals who said they get their news from social media every single day.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
