Wasn’t it a meteor? Study suggests dinosaur extinction had another cause

Groundbreaking research provides new insights into dinosaur extinction, suggesting that monumental volcanic eruptions in the Deccan Traps in Indiamay have played a crucial role in the event.

Rather than focusing on the widely accepted asteroid collision theory, this investigation uses computer analysis, advanced statistical models, and data obtained by drilling into sediments from the seabed to shed light on Earth’s distant past.

Volcanic eruptions may have wiped out the dinosaurs

Image: Jonathan Cooper/Reproduction

Sediment drilling provides a unique window into the past, allowing scientists to recreate conditions on Earth 60 million years ago. The data obtained from these holes has the potential to reveal vital information about conditions at the time, including the temperature of various regions and the amount of carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere.

O geologist of Darthmouth University, Alexander Cox, who led the research, took an even-handed approach to investigating the causes of dinosaur extinction.

According to the results of statistical models developed by Cox, volcanic eruptions that occurred in the Deccan Traps over a period of approximately one million years released significant quantities of gas.

This emission may have contributed to the changes in carbon levels found in the data collected. The impacts of meteorsalthough devastating in their own right, surprisingly may not have caused such a significant increase in gas emissions over time.

Image: Diogo F. Parra/Reproduction

However, not all scientists agree with this new interpretation of events. Some remain skeptical, arguing that the collision of space rock cannot be limited to an increase in gases in the atmosphere.

They point out that the Chicxulub collision in Mexico also released clouds of soot and dust, causing significant global cooling.

Finally, Clay Tabor, a paleoclimatologist at the University of Connecticut, believes that the Chicxulub collision had many side effects beyond the carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide emissions studied in this research.

The collision may have released significantly less CO² and SO² than the Deccan Traps, but it did so almost immediately, having a major impact on life on Earth. Earth that moment.