The asteroid impact 66 million years ago may have wiped out 75 percent of all life including the dinosaurs, but it set the stage for the creation of rainforests, says a new study by geologist and paleontologist Carlos Jaramillo and his colleagues. The result of the post-impact settling of dust, after several million years of evolution, was the dense, diverse tropical rainforests we know today, according to the report. The vast clouds of minerals ejected onto the landscape by the asteroid increased nutrient levels, particularly phosphorous, and paved the way for the angiosperm trees and plants to flourish, reports CBC Radio’s Quirks & Quarks. Thanks, Mr. Asteroid – I will take a rainforest over T-rex every day of the week!
