The Dinosaur-Killing Meteorite Created a Secret Underground World — Scientists Are Stunned

The meteorite that struck Earth 66 million years ago is usually remembered for destruction: a planetary shock that helped wipe out roughly three-quarters of life, including all non-avian dinosaurs. But new research on Mexico’s Chicxulub crater shows that the same impact also created something unexpected beneath the surface.

Scientists led by the University of Glasgow studied samples taken from the crater and found evidence of a long-lived underground hydrothermal system. Instead of lasting about two million years, as earlier modelling suggested, this hidden environment appears to have persisted for around eight million years, creating protected conditions where microbial life could survive.