Hyperthermal-Driven Megamonsoons as a Secondary Extinction Mechanism: Impact-Triggered Climate Catastrophes in Earth's History

This paper analyzes how hyperthermal megamonsoon events represent one of the least understood mass extinction mechanisms in the geological record. This study proposes a fundamental paradigm shift: rather than being atmospheric or superficial phenomena, extreme megamonsoons are direct geophysical consequences of deep lithospheric fracturing caused by large-scale impacts. The proposed mechanism identifies sustained upward thermal flux from the deep mantle, channeled through impact-generated fracture networks, as the primary driver. This deep heat source generates persistent basal ocean warming that sustains extreme evaporation for millions of years—a timescale incompatible with atmospheric or superficial thermal sources. Events such as the Carnian Pluvial Episode (CPE, ~232 Ma) and the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, ~56 Ma) exhibit diagnostic signatures consistent with this model: multi-million-year duration, extreme precipitation intensification, continental-scale flooding, and spatiotemporal correlation with Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) formed antipodally to major impact sites. The model predicts that megamonsoons represent a temporary hydrological "point of no return," where positive thermal feedbacks maintain extreme conditions until deep lithospheric fractures seal and normal mantle-ocean thermal equilibrium is restored. This process requires geological timescales (1-2 million years), explaining the observed persistence of these eventsme aridity, and thermal stress markers in fossil assemblages. This work demonstrates how planetary geometry critically influences the severity of extinction mechanisms. Suplemento to: Deep Impacts of Asteroids or Comets with Metallic Cores that Penetrate the Earth: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18204600 The Origin of the Universe: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17948685 https://orcid.org/0009-0006-1089-9023. Contact: [email protected] Part of the Proyecto A.D.A. (Architecture of Survival) series - Preprint 20. A chapter of: Survival Architecture: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=epWgEQAAQBAJ Arquitectura de la supervivencia: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Alejandro_D%C3%ADaz_Aldana_Arquitectura_de_la_Supervive?id=DpCgEQAAQBAJ