| Show g& m jBaag mSf The Salt Lake Tribune NATION - I SJS Saturday February 28 1998 A9 Study Says Life Returned Quickly at Site of Killer Asteroid Scientist Uncovers A Strange Burst Of Evolution in Gulf BYPAULRECER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON After a large asteroid smashed Earth and wiped out thousands of species including the dinosaurs new life forms appeared much more rapidly near the impact zone than in other parts of the world a study suggests Experts say the finding is a surprise because it was believed that life on Earth recovered at a uniform rate everywhere after the asteroid collision 65 million years ago that killed off the dinosaurs and 75 percent of all other species David Jablonski of the University of Chicago in a study published Friday in the journal Science said that compared with the rest of the world the Gulf of Mexico where the killer asteroid im pacted had an explosion of new species You would think that a place with that much more upheaval would be knocked down even harder but you dont actually see that in the data I got said Jablonski It had a strange burst of evolution that you dont see anywhere else Charles Marshall a paleobiolo-gis- t at the University of California Los Angeles and the Smithsonian Institution said Jablonskis study is the first to examine the extinction recovery in a way that compares one global region with another This is an important finding and it will influence the intellectual development of the whole field said Marshall It is now generally believed that an asteroid 6 to 12 miles in diameter and traveling at more than 13000 mph smashed into what now is the Gulf of Mexico just north of the Yucatan Peninsula about 65 million years ago The violence of the collision sent rolling clouds of superheated gas and melted dust across most of North America and caused tidal waves that raced across the Atlantic Billions of tons of soil sulfur and rock vapor were lifted into the atmosphere blotting out the sun Temperatures around the globe plunged Many dinosaurs then the dominant animals on Earth were killed in their tracks it is believed while others died later in the climate upheaval Among the few survivors were covery there was a surprise Jablonski said he found that within a million years after the extinction event there was a bloom of new species and population density in the Gulf of Mexico area from what now is Georgia to Texas He said that four groups of mol- - lusks showed a pulse of evoluthat you dont tionary action see anywhere else There also was a burst of species invasion from neighboring areas I thought the European fauna would be about the same but I found a very different pattern he said There was nothing really dramatic that happened there unlike the Gulf of Mexicq Z Jablonski said the evolutionary spurt occurred within about a million years and then leveled out to a rate like that before the extinction In the rest of the world he said it took 5 million years for the clams and snails to straggle back to where they had been before the extinction Price Effective Feb 28 1998 small mammals which later SATURDAY ONLY 16 Rain Checks After 8 evolved into many new species Human ancestors are thought to have evolved 4 million years ago and modern humans appeared about 100000 years ago millions of years after the dinosaurs In his study Jablonski surveyed the density and species types of clams and snails in deep corings from the Gulf of Mexico i India northern Europe and northern Africa He found that the rate of speextinction was about the same in all of the areas But when he looked for fossils from the re cies Farm Raided Service provided by EMMS SGaaaQ Hubs HERS AirTouch Cellular Introducing the Family Connection Plan 5 - Now you Phones? r on combine within the sansa i two or more calling plan for affordably convenient oiling two csgamply phones on share non for a total of $29 roc With free activation and each phone costing a penny yotfU get alot more than two cents worth- - 120 $29month for first 3 months $49month for remainder of contract Restrictions apply see store for details Offer Expires 22898 Limit 10 its Per Family FREE ACTIVATION 1500 inaWAIall268-(H)6filaJir1i- e &w Creak Drive Park City 2S30 East 33iri South 3981 South Wasatch Boulevard 2029 East 70th South 1360 South Foothill Boulavard 8550 South 1309 - WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO LIMIT QUANTITIES NO DEALERS it if k-- Eldredge Fine Furniture DDE sal Enjoy exceptional storewide savings on all collections: Drexel Heritage Baker Milling Road Maitland Smith Hancock Moore Chapman Wildwood F Cooper Ardley Hall Drexel Studio and many more fine lines of furniture art accessories area rugs and lighting 4750 SOUTH 9TH EAST SALT LAKE CITY PHONE HOURS: MON SAT 10-- 6 PM 261-14- DREXEL HERITAGE HOME INSPIRATION V p j Jill 81 rT)E A r |
