Research led by geologist Nadja Drabon revealed that the harsh conditions following the impact lasted only a couple of decades before life rapidly recovered.

Despite the initial devastation, the impact introduced vital nutrients like phosphorus and iron into the oceans, fostering a bloom of microbial life.

Overall, this research highlights the resilience of early life on Earth, demonstrating how it flourished in the wake of catastrophic events.

It took years to decades for the dust to settle and for the atmosphere to cool enough for water vapor to return to the oceans.

The impact triggered a tsunami that disrupted ocean environments, transported debris inland, and caused the ocean's surface to boil off.

Approximately 3.26 billion years ago, a massive meteorite impact, known as the 'S2' event, struck Earth, creating a crater 500 kilometers wide and generating extreme heat that boiled the oceans.

This meteorite was significantly larger than the one that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs, measuring between 40 to 60 kilometers in diameter.

The resulting environmental changes included a thick dust cloud that darkened the sky, halting photosynthetic activity and raising air temperatures by up to 100°C.

Bacterial life, particularly iron-utilizing bacteria, rebounded quickly in the aftermath, indicating a shift in the microbial community.

The findings suggest that major impacts acted as a form of 'fertilizer,' distributing essential elements across the planet and supporting the survival of simple organisms.

Before the S2 impact, Earth was largely a water world with minimal life, primarily consisting of single-celled microbes and lacking essential nutrients.

The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, analyzed ancient rocks in the Barberton Greenstone Belt in South Africa, revealing evidence of life’s recovery post-impact.