In the Gulf of Mexico, they want to drill a deep well to get to the bottom of Chicxulub crater. This is the area where the meteorite fell, which is believed to have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.
The fall of the Chicxulub meteorite affected the life of the Earth more seriously than the strongest volcanic eruptions known today. The planet shuddered with a devastating blow. Its force was millions of times greater than the force of the explosion of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. Tons of dust, debris and soot hid the sun for a long time. The shock wave passed through the planet several times, causing a series of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis. A kind of nuclear winter lasted for several years. It rained acid. The disaster marked the end of the era of the dinosaurs.
The ancient Chicxulub meteorite crater was discovered in 1978 by accident while searching for oil at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. First, a 70 km underwater arc was discovered. Then they found its continuation on land in the northwestern part of the Yucatan Peninsula. The crater diameter is thus 180 km. Scientists have recorded a gravitational anomaly in this area. And during geological studies, shock quartz with a compressed molecular structure and glassy tektites, formed only at extreme temperatures and pressures, were discovered.
Now scientists want to get to the bottom of the crater. Drilling from the platform in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico is to begin on April 1. It is planned to quickly pass through the 500 meters of limestone deposited at the bottom after the meteorite fell. Then you have to study the kilometer layer, collecting data on various types of fossils. But the most interesting thing scientists expect to find at the bottom of the crater, at a depth of about 1.5 kilometers. In the cracks of volcanic rocks, the simplest microorganisms can live. If the hypothesis is correct, then scientists will be able to understand how life was revived after the catastrophe at its epicenter.