Scientists claim that the “unfortunate” dinosaurs were wiped out by a deadly combination of sulfur dioxide and a cooling climate after the asteroid hit.
- Sulphurous gases and a cooling climate destroyed dinosaurs after an asteroid impact
- This is the discovery of a new study by the University of St. Andrews.
- The gases were ejected into the Earth’s atmosphere after a collision with an asteroid six miles in diameter.
- They have been circling the world for years, cooling the climate and causing mass extinctions.
A new study suggests that the dinosaurs were wiped out by a deadly combination of sulfur dioxide gases and a cooling climate after a massive asteroid impact.
Experts say the gases were released into Earth’s atmosphere after the Chicxulub impact and then circled the globe for years, which in turn caused the planet to cool.
This contributed to the mass extinction of life about 66 million years ago, according to researchers at the University of St. Andrews, who said the dinosaurs “were just very unlucky.”
Despite the catastrophic consequences for dinosaurs and other living creatures, the fall of an asteroid with a diameter of six miles in what is now the Yucatan Peninsula allowed for the diversification of mammals, including primates.
A new study suggests that the dinosaurs were wiped out by a deadly combination of sulfur dioxide gases and a cooling climate after a massive asteroid impact.
Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event
When did it happen?
66 million years ago
How many species are extinct?
76 percent of all life on Earth
What is the reason?
Collision with a giant asteroid
Dr Aubrey Mirrorl, from the University of St. Andrews’ School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, said: “One of the reasons this particular impact was so devastating to life is because it landed in a marine environment rich in sulfur and other volatiles. . .
“Dinosaurs are just very unlucky.”
The study, which was conducted jointly with Syracuse University in New York, the University of Bristol and Texas A&M University, aimed to study the impact of the Chicxulub asteroid impact.
Sulfate aerosols have long been considered a major factor in the mass extinction that marked the end of the Cretaceous and the beginning of the Paleogene on Earth, but to what extent was unknown.
The new study has made it possible to study rare sulfur isotopes in material ejected by the impact and deposited in the nearby sea, now represented by rocks found along the Brazos River in Texas.
Dr James Witts of the University of Bristol’s School of Geosciences said: “Our data provide the first direct evidence of the massive amount of sulfur released from the Chicxulub impact.
“It’s amazing to be able to see such rapid and catastrophic global changes in the geological record.”
Pictured is Darthing Minnow Creek in Rosebud, Texas showing the Chicxulub impact sequence.
The new study has made it possible to study rare sulfur isotopes in material ejected by the impact and deposited in the nearby sea, now represented by rocks found along the Brazos River in Texas.
Atmospheric sulfur in the stratosphere dissipated incoming solar radiation and prolonged planetary-scale cooling for many years after the initial impact, causing acid rain and reducing the amount of light available for photosynthesis, which is vital for plant life and marine plankton, which form the basis of food. chain.
Christopher Junium, of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Syracuse University, said: “The initial effects of the impact were caused by rock dust, soot and wildfires, but sulfur aerosols extended the time period over which life would have been affected by extreme cooling, reduced sunlight and acidification. surface of the earth and oceans, and it was this prolonged cooling that likely played a central role in the severity of the extinction.”
According to the authors, their results suggest that the presence of sulfur may be due solely to the Chicxulub impact, and not to previously theorized effects of modern volcanism in the large Deccan-Trapps igneous province.
The Cretaceous period, the third and final period of the Mesozoic era, lasted from 145 to 66 million years ago and was characterized by a warm climate dominated by reptiles and dinosaurs on the planet.
Its end was marked by the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event, a sudden mass extinction that also marked the beginning of the Cenozoic era that we still live in today.
The study is published in the journal PNAS.
DINOSAUR MURDER: HOW A CITY-SIZE ASTEROID DESTROYED 75 PERCENT OF ALL SPECIES OF ANIMALS AND PLANTS
About 66 million years ago, the non-avian dinosaurs were wiped out, and more than half of the world’s species were wiped out.
This mass extinction paved the way for the emergence of mammals and the emergence of humans.
The asteroid Chicxulub is often cited as a potential cause of the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event.
The asteroid crashed into shallow water in what is now the Gulf of Mexico.
The impact created a huge cloud of dust and soot that caused global climate change and wiped out 75 percent of all animal and plant species.
The researchers argue that the soot needed for such a global catastrophe could only come from a direct impact on rocks in the shallow waters around Mexico, which are especially rich in hydrocarbons.
According to experts, within 10 hours after the strike, a powerful tsunami wave swept along the Gulf of Mexico coast.
About 66 million years ago, the non-avian dinosaurs were wiped out, and more than half of the world’s species were wiped out. The Chicxulub asteroid is often cited as a potential cause of the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event (file image)
This caused earthquakes and landslides in areas such as Argentina.
When investigating this event, researchers found small particles of stone and other debris that was thrown into the air when the asteroid fell.
These small particles, called globules, have covered the planet in a thick layer of soot.
Experts explain that the loss of sunlight has led to the complete collapse of the water system.
This is because the phytoplankton base of almost all aquatic food chains would be destroyed.
It is believed that over 180 million years of evolution, which led the world to the Cretaceous period, were wiped out in less than the lifespan of a Tyrannosaurus rex, which is 20 to 30 years.