Study Finds Massive Eocene Asteroid Impacts Had No Long-Term Climate Effects

Two major asteroid collisions 35 million years ago created vast craters but left Earth's climate largely unchanged over 150,000 years.

Two asteroids struck Earth 25,000 years apart during the late Eocene epoch, forming the Popigai crater in Siberia and the Chesapeake Bay crater in the U.S.
The impacts, which created the fourth and fifth largest craters on Earth, were caused by asteroids measuring 3-8 kilometers in diameter.
Researchers analyzed isotopes in ancient marine fossils and found no evidence of significant long-term climate changes following the impacts.
Short-term effects, such as tsunamis, shockwaves, fires, and temporary sunlight blockage, would have been catastrophic on a human timescale.
The study suggests Earth's climate remained stable despite these collisions, contrasting with the Chicxulub impact that led to the dinosaur extinction.