An Analysis On What Truly Killed The Dinosaurs
What really killed the dinosaurs? This question has plagued man since the first fossils were discovered. Scientists have given many theories on what brought extinction of so many species of animals and plants millions of years ago ranging from an asteroid impact to volcanism. The reason there are so many ideas on what wiped them out is because none have given all the information to explain the downfall of these creatures. There are so many ideas out there that people are unsure which one to believe and therefore brings all the controversy to this topic.
The most widely accepted theory, the asteroid theory, explains that approximately 65 million years ago an asteroid impacted near the
coast of the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. According to PBS, this collision led to significant amounts of dust rising into the air and blocking off the sun's rays which dramatically decreased the temperature across the globe. After this period of freezing temperatures, green house gasses increased the temperature much higher than before the impact. These two periods
of extreme temperatures is believed to have wiped out up to 70% of all plants and animals on Earth. Evidence of this theory comes from the crater off the Yucatan Peninsula, iridium found in the crater which for the most part exists only in asteroids, patterns in crystals similar to those from asteroid impacts, and records of fossils dating large amounts of deaths in a short period of time. Another popular theory is that all the frequent volcanic eruptions pushed so much ash and gas into the atmosphere that it prevented sunlight from reaching land which took energy away from species everywhere. One of the other theories mentioned by Britannica is that these species of animals and plants were not able to adapt to new conditions which therefore didn't give them the necessary tools to survive which led to their decease.
All of these theories provide evidence supporting them and give logical explanations which brings the question; how can there be so many accepted ideas?
In my opinion and the opinion of countless others, the asteroid impact theory is what killed so many dinosaurs and plants 65 million years ago. The staggering amount of information supporting this idea is overwhelming and provides accuracy towards nearly all aspects. However, it does not give evidence on the death of so many marine species. This is one of the key points that disproves this theory. Also, this massive impact of the asteroid hitting Earth could have eliminated photosynthesis which would be the death of all the plants and animals. Even though the asteroid impact theory explaining how so many dinosaurs died has its flaws, it also has overwhelming evidence supporting it which is why myself and many scientists believe that a large asteroid led to the death of up to 70% of all species on our planet 65 million years ago.
Pictures from Time Magazine and National Science Foundation
The most widely accepted theory, the asteroid theory, explains that approximately 65 million years ago an asteroid impacted near the
coast of the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. According to PBS, this collision led to significant amounts of dust rising into the air and blocking off the sun's rays which dramatically decreased the temperature across the globe. After this period of freezing temperatures, green house gasses increased the temperature much higher than before the impact. These two periods
of extreme temperatures is believed to have wiped out up to 70% of all plants and animals on Earth. Evidence of this theory comes from the crater off the Yucatan Peninsula, iridium found in the crater which for the most part exists only in asteroids, patterns in crystals similar to those from asteroid impacts, and records of fossils dating large amounts of deaths in a short period of time. Another popular theory is that all the frequent volcanic eruptions pushed so much ash and gas into the atmosphere that it prevented sunlight from reaching land which took energy away from species everywhere. One of the other theories mentioned by Britannica is that these species of animals and plants were not able to adapt to new conditions which therefore didn't give them the necessary tools to survive which led to their decease.
All of these theories provide evidence supporting them and give logical explanations which brings the question; how can there be so many accepted ideas?In my opinion and the opinion of countless others, the asteroid impact theory is what killed so many dinosaurs and plants 65 million years ago. The staggering amount of information supporting this idea is overwhelming and provides accuracy towards nearly all aspects. However, it does not give evidence on the death of so many marine species. This is one of the key points that disproves this theory. Also, this massive impact of the asteroid hitting Earth could have eliminated photosynthesis which would be the death of all the plants and animals. Even though the asteroid impact theory explaining how so many dinosaurs died has its flaws, it also has overwhelming evidence supporting it which is why myself and many scientists believe that a large asteroid led to the death of up to 70% of all species on our planet 65 million years ago.
Pictures from Time Magazine and National Science Foundation
8 comments:
Cormac, If an asteroid hit right now, do you think it could wipe out the entire human race?
Well, it must have been a really big asteroid. :) If an asteroid actually hit the earth right now I doubt that it would kill off the human race. We are pretty tough, and have the ability to adapt to changes in our environment. Asteroids fall towards the earth everyday but are destroyed while entering our atmosphere. Nice job Cormac.
Hard to believe that this all went down some 65 million years ago! But, it is interesting that there are so many different ideas and views to what happen to the creatures, mainly dinosaurs, and that none can fully be accepted because of facts that support some, but dicredit others. Great job on showing other ideas and opinions. Finally, if an astroid hit the Earth right now, I doubt it would take out the human race as Megan said why and the chances of a huge astroid doing so are slim.
So why are chickens the " ancestors of dinosuars" wouldn't they have died too?
This myth is a very complicated one an dyou did a nice job! An dagreeing with megan it must have been one big astriod.
I always thought this was a reasonable explanation, however, how did many life forms we see today, that were around back then survive? This includes turtles, sharks, and plant life in general. With the suns rays blocked out, plant life would cease to exist. So why do we see plants today?
i enjoyed reading your blog but i still believe that something else killed off the dinosaurs like an epidemic or a plague.
Sort of like global warming... people refuse to believe in it despite overwhelming evidence. Sort of scary how devestating an asteroid impact can be.
Cormac i support your theory that the asteroid helped to kill the dinosaurs but i also believe that there were other factors involved in the extintion of marine life. but i don't know how the microscopic algea survived whatever wiped out the marine life.
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