Posted on 02/09/2016 11:59:06 AM PST by BenLurkin
Bardeen and his colleagues modeled what would happen to Earth's climate if a 0.6-mile-wide (1 kilometer) space rock plowed into one of the planet's landmasses. Such an impact would probably gouge out a crater about 9 miles (15 km) wide, throw huge amounts of dust into the atmosphere and trigger large-scale fires that lofted lots of soot into the air, provided the strike didn't occur in a desert area with little vegetation, Bardeen said.
The material lofted after this hypothetical asteroid strike would stay in the atmosphere for a long time — about six years in the case of dust and 10 years for soot, according to the researchers' results for the "worst-case scenario" (which assumed widespread fires).
These particles would warm in the sun, heating the stratosphere significantly and speeding up chemical reactions that destroy ozone, which protects Earth from harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Indeed, atmospheric ozone would be temporarily reduced by 55 percent, causing the surface UV index to top 20 in the tropics for several years....
The atmospheric soot and dust would also reduce the amount of sunlight hitting Earth's surface by up to 70 percent for the first year or two, Bardeen said. As a result, average global surface temperatures would cool by 14.5 degrees Fahrenheit (8 degrees Celsius), "which is about the equivalent of the ice ages,"
...
However, the chances of an asteroid strike with serious global consequences seem remote, at least in the near future.
To date, astronomers have spotted 879 near-Earth asteroids that are at least 0.6 miles wide, and none of them pose an immediate threat. Models suggest that these 879 represent more than 90 percent of the total population of such mountain-size space rocks in Earth's neighborhood, NASA officials have said
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
Yes, and if pigs could fly...
Science is bunk, right?
Something the size of Canyon Diablo, 50 meters, would mess us up quite enough, thanks. A rock the size in OA would be very difficult to deal with, even without climate effects.
That's when we fire up our SUVs and save the world!
Science is not bunk. I just wish I had time to sit around and contemplate my navel half as much as these types do.
Hooah!
With this and global warming, we should come out just right.
Oh noooooeee.....we’re ALL gonna die!
The atmospheric soot and dust would also reduce the amount of sunlight hitting Earth's surface by up to 70 percent for the first year or two, Bardeen said. As a result, average global surface temperatures would cool by 14.5 degrees Fahrenheit (8 degrees Celsius), "which is about the equivalent of the ice ages,"
There’s a 75% chance it wont hit a landmass. Landing in one of the oceans might create one helluva tidal wave though.
I hope it plops down in the Indian Ocean (sorry Australia).
With my luck it will fall on top of me...
Good Hunting... from Varmint Al
Couldn’t we just launch a shuttle, land on it, drill a hole with some evil oil guys and blow it in half?
If there is any oil inside we should just take that too :)
It's always that 10% that gets you in the most trouble.......................
If it hit in the right place, it might be worth it.
My guess is that for one reason or another...we’ll never see it until it’s too late to do anything but duck.
Why not the Pacific? It’s bigger and has more liberals on its shores....................
When did the word “wide” replace the word “diameter”?
Most big space rocks are not round, so wide is more appropriate. What’s the diameter of a butternut squash?
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