10nfl1-Nukes-Cover
ASTEROID STRIKES ARE LIKE NUCLEAR WINTER ONLY WORSE
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| ASTEROID STRIKES ARE LIKE NUCLEAR WINTER ONLY WORSE. Lt. Col. John C. Kunich Harvard Law, Associate Professor @ Appalachian University of Law, Planetary Defense The Legality of Global Survival 41 AF. L. Rev. 119, 1997 The impact of a sufficiently large object on land may cause a blackout scenario in which dust raised by the impact prevents sunlight from reaching the surface[of the Earth for several months. Lack of sunlight terminates photosynthesis, prevents creatures from foraging for food, and leads to precipitous temperature declines. Obviously even much smaller impacts would have the potential to seriously damage human civilization, perhaps irreparably. In addition to the dust raised from the initial impact, smoke and particulate matter from vast, uncontrollable fires may greatly exacerbate this blackout effect. A large space object generates tremendous heat, regardless of whether it is destroyed in the atmosphere or physically hits the surface of the Earth. These fires can reach far beyond the impact area, due to atmospheric phenomena associated with the entry of a huge, ultrahigh speed object. A huge mass of dust, smoke, and soot lofted into Earths atmosphere could lead to effects similar to those associated with the "nuclear winter" theory, but on a much larger, much more deadly scale. Such effects are now widely believed to have been a major factor contributing to the mass extinction spasms. These cataclysmic effects may have been worsened still further by other collateral phenomena associated with the impact. For example, acid rain, pronounced depletion of the ozone layer, and massive injections of water vapor into the upper atmosphere maybe indirect effects, each with its own negative consequences for life on Earth. Download 1.23 Mb. Share with your friends:
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