Chicxulub hydrothermal system lasted 8 million years after impact

Researchers at the University of Glasgow analyzed rock samples from the Chicxulub crater and found that the hydrothermal system created by the asteroid impact 66 million years ago stayed hot for 8 million years — four times longer than previously thought, creating conditions for life deep beneath the Yucatan Peninsula.

• The Chicxulub impact 66 million years ago deformed rock as deep as 35 km
• Potassium-argon dating showed heating from 66 to 58 million years ago
• Cooling to 90 °C took 1.5–2.3 million years, to 50 °C up to 5 million years
• Microbes have been found in only 8 of 70 underwater impact craters with hydrothermal activity