Curious ElfEveryone is intrigued to know about those gigantic creatures who once ruled our planet. Fossils, skeletal remains, and other evidence points out the existence of dinosaurs on the earth. According to researchers, dinosaurs had inhabited the planet for 230 million years, and it has been more than 60 million years since their extinction.
There have been numerous theories regarding their extinction and each study has to provide some different results. One of the famous theories is that they ceased to extinction during the switch from the Cretaceous to Paleogene period. Not only dinosaurs, but there were also marine reptiles like ichthyosaurs, mosasaurs, and plesiosaurs who went away with them. It is said that forests might have burned in flames taking down the dynasty of dinosaurs from the earth.
In a nutshell, that mass extinction just swallowed three-quarters of life on our planet. Combining all the theories together regarding what might have happened back then, the scientific community is battling with ideas. Were dinosaurs a prey of violence or any other Earthly disaster?
Was It A Death From Above?
Alvarez’s hypothesis is one of the famous theories for mass extinction. It was named after Luis and Walter Alvarez. Back in 1980, the father-son duo proposed that a mountain-sized meteor hit the heart and filled the atmosphere with poisonous gas, debris, and dust 66 million years ago. Such meteor accidents drastically changed the climate and led to the extinction of the creatures on the earth.
The key element in their theory was metal iridium that was found in high quantities from dinosaur fossils. Metal iridium is rarely found on the earth’s crust but is found abundantly in meteoroids. Hence, the Alvarez hypothesis stated that the extinction was caused by the extra-terrestrial accident.
The scientist duo was able to authenticate their theory by linking it to the huge impact created by a crater on the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. The Chicxulub crater is almost 93 miles wide and somewhat old enough to match with the dinosaurs’ extinction. When they drilled the crater they could find the same metal iridium.
May Have Been A Volcanic Fury
A majority of scientists believe in the Alvarez theory or simply think it was caused by unearthly matter. However, there are a bunch of other theories as well that gained traction. There are many scientists who believe the culprit was the earth itself and the climatic changes gradually led to the extinction.
The Deccan Traps are ancient lava junctions in India that match with the end of the Cretaceous period. It is deemed that the massive outpour of lava might have created disruption in the environment 66 million years ago. Such massive explosions from the lava may have camouflaged the skies with CO2 and other poisonous gases that can easily kill creatures.
The supporters of this theory claim that volcanic eruptions are the better fit for the story of extinction. They studied the frequency of volcanic activities and the residues of lava from the fossils. Scientists stated that dinosaurs may have died a slow death as volcanic eruptions were quite frequent back then that may be the plausible culprit of the extinction.
How About Both?
While we compare the evidence of both theories, there are a bunch of scientists who want to believe in both. Indeed, there are chances that both a meteor strike and a volcanic eruption may have played their role in killing dinosaurs.
A growing number of scientists are trying to unravel the prehistoric mystery and discovering the opportunity that can combine both theories. It is very likely possible that a dynasty of dinosaurs may have unfortunately fallen victim to the meteor punch and other portions started declining due to the weakening ecosystem by volcanic activity.
This notion is further strengthened by the precise dating of the Chicxulub crater and Deccan Traps. There were two independent studies published in 2019 that studied the geological clues from the Deccan traps and came out with different conclusions. One suggested that volcanoes played a major role in the extinction of dinosaur’s demise. The other stated that after the space invasion by the meteor disrupted the atmosphere, the volcanic eruptions led to further worsening the situation. Everything came simultaneously that severely hampered the gigantic species.
The Bottom Line
The debate has been raging for ages regarding dinosaur’s extinction from the earth. Every now and then scientists will dig up new theories that will point to the reasons for their extinction. It can be climatic change or any extra-terrestrial accident, either way, it was impacting enough to wipe off a whole species from the earth.
The above mentioned were two of the biggest and most lauded theories that were scrutinized by scientists across the globe.
