Some 66 million long time ago , a massive asteroid bang into Earth . TheChicxulubimpactor , as it is call , famously pass over out the non - avian dinosaurs and left a huge volcanic crater at the bound of the Yucatán peninsula – but it may not have acted alone . New research has revealed that a 2nd , smaller outer space rock boom into our planet during the same era , creating a 9.2 - kilometer ( 5.7 - mile ) crater deeply below the Atlantic .

The Nadir Crater wasdiscoveredback in 2022 , located off the glide of Guinea in West Africa and rest 300 m ( 984 feet ) under the floor of the Atlantic Ocean . It is believe to have been make at the end of the Cretaceous period , around 66 million years ago , right when Chicxulub hit . However , the exact circumstances of how it came to be have remain uncertain – until now . Thanks to the fresh study , which has mapped the volcanic crater in unparalleled item , researcher have finally confirmed how it was shape .

Using gamy - resolution , 3D seismal data , the squad was able to determine “ beyond reasonable doubt ” that the crater was because of an impact .

“ This is the first clip that an impingement structure has ever been imaged fully with eminent - resolution seismal data like this and it is a real treasure trove of information to help us to reconstruct how this crater formed and evolve , ” discipline author Dr Uisdean Nicholson wrote in aSpringer Nature blog postabout the late research .

“ There are around 20 confirm maritime craters worldwide , and none of them has been seize in anything tight to this level of detail . It ’s exquisite , ” Nicholson added in a separatestatement .

“ One way of life to see it is to recollect about a pregnancy ultrasound . A few generations ago , the ultrasound would show a grainy blob . Now you could see the babe ’s features in 3D , in unbelievable detail – including all the internal electric organ . We ’ve gone from 2D , fuzzy imaging to amazing gamey - resolution imaging of the Nadir Crater . ”

From these olympian images , a clearer pic of what happened 66 million eld ago , when the volcanic crater formed , has emerged . For example , the squad now know that the asteroid itself was heavy than previously think , at around 450 - 500 m ( 1,476 - 1,640 feet ) astray . They also believe it came from around 20 - 40 degrees to the northeast and hit Earth at an staggering 72,000 kilometer ( 44,700 miles ) per hour – although this still needs to be verified with a new solidifying of impact models .

In addition , the enquiry has shed some light on the timeline of events survey the encroachment .

“ After the impact and the primal upthrow forming , the soft sediment surrounding the crater flowed inwards towards the evacuated volcanic crater level , creating a visible ‘ brim ’ . The earthquake shaking get by the impact appears to have liquefied the sediments below the seabed across the entire plateau , causing faults to forge below the Davy Jones’s locker , ” Nicholson explained .

“ The impact was also associated with large landslide as the tableland gross profit collapsed below the ocean . As well as this , we see evidence for a train oftsunamiwaves going away from , then back towards the crater , with large resurge cicatrice preserving grounds of this catastrophic event . ”

The research worker still can not date the case incisively but are extend their work on the Nadir Crater to try and pinpoint when in the late Cretaceous period it was formed , as well as its potential kinship with Chicxulub .

According to Nicholson , there has never been an impact of this size in human history , and so learning more about it could be illuminating – and not just for learning more about what terminate the dinosaurs ' reign , but for understanding asteroid shock in ecumenical .

“ The close-fitting human have come to meet something like this is the1908 Tunguska event , ” order Nicholson . “ The new 3D seismic data across the whole Nadir Crater is an unprecedented opportunity to test impact volcanic crater speculation , recrudesce new models of volcanic crater shaping in the marine environment and sympathise the consequences of such an outcome . ”

The study is published inCommunications Earth & Environment .