If an Asteroid struck the Earth today?

[DinosaurMichael]

So I was just wondering, but let's say like what happened to the dinosaurs. If an Asteroid struck the earth today? Would humanity or any other animals today be able to survive or do you think they would eventually go extinct just like what happened to the Dinosaurs, which was 65 million years ago? Also what animals do you think would become extinct?

Give out your answer and reasons why or why not?

[Grey]

It depends the size of the asteroid of course.

The guy that killed dinosaurs would most likely utterly destroy us or reduce the global population to a few thousand of individuals.

Overall, the same impact than KT.

[Venomous Dragon]

It would have to be obe massive asteroid to wipe out all life and even tge most basic technology gives us an advantage that would allow us to survive all but the most powerful of impacts.

[DinosaurMichael]

Let's say the Asteroid is the size of the one that killed the Dinosaurs and it struck the same spot like the previous one did 65 million years ago.

[Fragillimus335]

Rich humans would do just fine, but casualties in the billions would be very likely. I think as a species we would pull through somewhat easily.

[DinosaurMichael]

I think that if an Asteroid the size of the one that killed the Dinosaurs were to hit the Earth. I think the first animals to die out would be the biggest ones. So that would include Elephants, Rhinos, Hippos, and Bovine's. I'd imagine large predators like Big Cats such as Tigers, and Lions not surviving as well as Wolves, and Hyenas. Bears will fare much better due to their omnivorous diet, but most species would of Bears would die out except for the Polar Bear, and Black Bear. I think almost anything that was up to more than 20 lbs would not survive except for the animals that was around during the Dinosaurs and survived the previous Asteroid. Rats, Foxes, Small Cats and other animals of their size. I'd imagine would survive and do well. Birds since they survived to this day. I'd imagine them surviving except for the flightless Birds like Ostriches, Rhea's and Emu's. Invertebrate's, fish, and amphibian's would do just fine. All species of Reptile's would survive including Lizard's that eat insects. I'd say Wild Boar and Feral Pig's would live since they can eat anything even dirt. Now the Ocean would likely be very affected. I'd imagine Whales, Dolphin's and Porpoise's dying out, but Shark's except for the Filter Feeder's like Whale Shark's and Basking Shark's would fare well since they survived the previous Asteroid. Pinniped's would survive too. Most of their diet consists of Fish and since Fish would not be affected that much and still be around. So in the end. Everything that was around during the time of the Dinosaurs would survive such as Crocodilian's and Birds, small to medium size animals like Rats, Polar Bears, Black Bears, and Pinniped's. And the biggest animal's alive will be Crocodilian's, large Varanid's such as the Komodo Dragon, Large Snake's like Anaconda's and Pythons, Giant Tortoise's, Wild Boar and Feral Pig's, Polar Bear's, Black Bear's and Pinniped's. While the rest of the survivor's are small to medium size.

As for Humans. I think most of us would be wiped out completely and there would be only a few of us left. Those that survived would live like the people in the Middle Ages since the impact of the Asteroid would shut down all electronics for good.

That's what I think.

[Deleted]

Homo sapiens dies out along with the other ~70-75% of animal life.

I think that dinosaurs(birds are dinosaurs, deal with it), small mammals, non-amniote tetrapods, and lizards would make it through. This would probably be the end of the "Age of Mammals", and the "Second Age of Dinosaurs" begins(but this time they're all feathered).

[Fragillimus335]

Jul 23, 2013 13:46:36 GMT 5 @brolyeuphyfusion said:

Homo sapiens dies out along with the other ~70-75% of animal life.

I think that dinosaurs(birds are dinosaurs, deal with it), small mammals, non-amniote tetrapods, and lizards would make it through. This would probably be the end of the "Age of Mammals", and the "Second Age of Dinosaurs" begins(but this time they're all feathered).

I honestly think humans have plenty of adaptive power to survive another KT impact. Plenty of rich people who live in eastern China and ride it out just fine. Also, I think mammals are to intrenched as the dominant species to be replaced by birds, warm-blooded and small is a hard combination to beat.

[Grey]

Fragillimus335

If an impact caused by a 12 km wide asteroid was happening, it is overly optimistic to think we would have the adaptative power to survive.

The initial impact itself would cause tens of millions, perhaps hundreds of millions of deaths in few hours (thermal wave, huge earthquakes, megatsunamis, subsequent volcanic eruptions). The global cloud subsequent to the impact would put a final word to the business. Our technology is nothing without the sun during years, in fact our technology makes us more fragile than we were when Toba had erupted 74 000 years ago, destroying the various hominids and very likely bringing our species to a near-extinction. And as massive Toba's eruption was (1000 times more voluminous than the eruption by the Vesuvius in 79 CE), it is utterly dwarfed by the KT impact.

At the very best, our civilization collapses (think about the subsequent wars, biblical starvations, global and vital ressources heavily poisoned) and the population is vastly reduced.

A 12 km wide object destroyed or at least greatly contributed to the demise of the most dominant living group of all times. We are no match either, far from it.

Movies do not exagerrate at all the potential lethal power of such an impact.

And the possibility for birds to take and develop within vacant niches is realistic. They've survived the KT, in fact they were the most blatant survivors. And some became the dominant land top predators and definitely took the skies for them millions of years after....No reason to think they couldn't not fullfil the available terrestrial positions.

[Fragillimus335]

I suppose it is also important to know if we have any forewarning. Our tech would probably give us at least a couple weeks to get ready. Although I do think death tolls in the billions is unavoidable. I would expect us to drop to 1930's level technology, with a surviving population in the 10's to 100's of millions. Simply having the capability to make fire and grow crops greatly improves our ability to cope with such a disaster.

[elosha11]

Part of this answer depends on whether humanity saw the asteroid coming. At 10-12 km in diameter, this would probably be too big for us to blow up in space, but if scientists saw it approaching with a year or more time to spare, you can bet all western technology would be devoted to stopping it, such as with rocket bound nukes to blow it up, or at least nudge it in a slightly different direction. I also wonder if the governments would try to keep it quiet for as long as possible to avoid anarchy and lawlessness that would probably arise with a public announcement.

If all efforts fail and we got hit, we'd probably have tried to develop some type of massive underground facilities with years of supplies to try to ride out the worst of the explosion and the aftermath. However, I'm not optimistic. Most people would still die and disease, famine, and general anarchy would become the norm. Technology and knowledge would be largely wiped out and it would be difficult for survivors to rebuild knowledge, given their daily struggles to survive. I'd give humanity as a whole only a 20% chance for long term survival. I think realistically we could all be dead within a hundred years.

[Vodmeister]

Humans would indeed survive, billions would die, obviously, but our species would continue to live on.

In Spitsbergen, an island in the Arctic circle which belongs to Norway, there's an underground bunker which has enough food supply (kept in seeds) for 250,000 people lasting a year if any enormous natural catastrophe would ever occur, such as a 10 km meteor striking Earth.




The bunker is build inside a mountain, and made out of pure steel, hence it is very powerful, durable, and safe.




Svalbard global seed vault.




This is the world's last back-up recourse in case of the absolute worst natural disaster, such as an asteroid the size of Mt. Everest striking our planet.

[Runic]

I would rise from the ashes and rule with tyranny over any survivors and shape the world to my liking.

[Deleted]

Jul 24, 2013 1:09:22 GMT 5 Fragillimus335 said:

Jul 23, 2013 13:46:36 GMT 5 @brolyeuphyfusion said:

Homo sapiens dies out along with the other ~70-75% of animal life.

I think that dinosaurs(birds are dinosaurs, deal with it), small mammals, non-amniote tetrapods, and lizards would make it through. This would probably be the end of the "Age of Mammals", and the "Second Age of Dinosaurs" begins(but this time they're all feathered).

I honestly think humans have plenty of adaptive power to survive another KT impact. Plenty of rich people who live in eastern China and ride it out just fine. Also, I think mammals are to intrenched as the dominant species to be replaced by birds, warm-blooded and small is a hard combination to beat.

I think Grey's reply to that post already explained the same reasoning that I would have used here.

[Vodmeister]

Humans would certainly not die out before any animals larger than a mouse die out.

We have people all around the world, there are 7.1 billion of us, and we have bomb shelters. It'll take a meteor bigger than 12 km across to wipe humanity out.