Asteroid Theories On The Disappearance Of Dinosaurs

Four and a half billion years ago, the debris and dust left from the formation of the sun coalesced to form our home planet. 3.5 billion years ago, the first living organisms appeared on Earth. About 230 million years ago, Dinosaurs diverged from their Archosaurs ancestors during the middle to late Triassic period. For 160 million years they have dominated our planet. They are dubbed the most successful species to have lived on Earth. However, 65 million years ago, the most recent mass extinction seemed to have caused all of them to die-off. What caused the demise of the dinosaurs and 60% of life on Earth at the time? How did it affect life on Earth afterwards? Are all of the Dinosaurs dead? Will this happen to humans in the near future?

The KT extinction asteroid impact, arguably the most recognizable asteroid impact ever known, also known as the “Chicxulub Asteroid Impact” from the name of the location the impact occurred.(Schulte et al., 2010) The event itself happened around 65.5 million years ago. It is widely accepted as the event that caused the mass extinction that marked the boundary

The End Cretaceous impact hypothesis states that an asteroid impact on the earth caused the extinction. The evidence that supports this hypothesis include the crater found in the Yucatan Peninsula, the rare metal Iridium, and fractured “shocked quartz” crystals that have been shown to cause high-energy explosions. The End Cretaceous flood volcanism hypothesis states that a giant volcano eruption, or a series of volcano eruptions caused the extinction The evidence that supports this hypothesis includes immense lava flow, and volcano explosions, which happen to exposed iridium.

Nobody can really say what actually eliminated the species, although everyone has their very own idea. Asteroid impact, atmospheric changes (hot to cold), catastrophic eruptions and astronomical events (supernovas etc.). Some have ventured that early mammal inhabitation slowly “pushed” the dinosaurs to extinction. The most favored theory in the scientific field is that of the meteor impact. As always though, knowing when is part of discovering how and why.

There have been 5 mass extinctions in Earth’s existence. The names of these are (from most recent to least recent): Cretaceous–Paleogene, Triassic–Jurassic, Permian–Triassic, Late Devonian, and Ordovician–Silurian. The most well known mass extinction, Cretaceous-Paleogene, was theorized to have occurred through a massive comet or asteroid impact. A cold winter created by the impacting object forbid any plants and plankton to carry out photosynthesis. During this time, about three quarters of all life went extinct. This happened approximately 66 million years ago. Most life forms went extinct, with some ectothermic species and tetrapods weighing less than 25 pounds. Although everything seemed to look hopeless, adaptive radiation caused evolution

Science AOL Task There are many theories on how the dinosaurs became extinct over 65 million years ago. The theory that is most common, is the asteroid theory. The asteroid theory proposes that an asteroid hit the Earth, resulting in overwhelming amounts of ash pouring into the atmosphere. Another theory is the volcanic eruption theory.

Since the 1980s the most popular theory for why dinosaurs became extinct was because of a meteor, but many people are skeptical of whether or not the meteor was the only factor in the extinction of the dinosaurs. In Stephen Brusatte’s “What Killed the Dinosaurs,” Dr. Brusatte talks about how the mystery of the extinction of the dinosaurs was a hug influence on his life and caused him to become what he is today. As a teenager Brusatte had a chance to talk to Walter Alvarez, the man who proposed the idea of a meteor being the cause for the extinction of the dinosaurs. Alvarez was able to come up with this hypothesis by examining the clay band between the Cretaceous period and the Paleogene period. The Cretaceous period was a time when the Earth had a surplus amount of dinosaurs and the Paleogene period was the time period directly after the Cretaceous period where dinosaurs had become extinct. When Alvarez studied the clay band he had discovered that the band was saturated in iridium which is an element common on meteors and asteroids. This led him to believe that a meteor may have led to the downfall of the dinosaurs.

The most recent and debatably best-known, the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, which occurred approximately 66 million years ago (Ma), was a large-scale mass extinction of animal and plant species in a geologically short period of time.

Approximately 66 million years ago, the first, and most recent extinction event of ‘the Big Five’ took place- the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) Extinction, also known as the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) Extinction. While this event is known primarily for its involvement in the extinction of dinosaurs, it also had quite the effect on a large majority of other plant and animal species, to the point where no tetrapod (four-legged vertebrae) weighing above 25 kilograms survived. The original trigger is believed to have been a massive comet or an asteroid impact, estimated at about ten kilometers in size, but other theories suggest that volcanic eruptions, climate change, or sea level change played a role was well. Either way, there were catastrophic

Plate tectonics did play a part in discovering what was the demise of the dinosaurs. Walter Alveras and his team were trying to discover why the Earth’s magnetic flip-flopped from south to north and they felt that the answers could be found in sedimentary rock samples. The sedimentary layer of rock was 65 million years old and formed a boundary between the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods, known as the “KT” boundary. This boundary was made of clay and it was a devoid of fossils.

65 million years ago, dinosaurs ruled the planet. These fascinating animals were the largest, strongest creatures to ever walk the face of the earth, yet, they met a fate that would change the world forever. All that is left are the fossilized remains of these captivating creatures. Their fossils, along with the layers of our Earth’s rock and sediment, tell a story of how they lived and how they died. However, there is still an ongoing debate in the world of science of exactly what catastrophe caused these magnificent animals to take their last breathes and never reappear again. Was it a gigantic meteor or asteroid of some type or was it mass volcanos erupting all over the Earth? Whatever the reason, the dinosaurs disappeared from this

Dinosaur extinction: An analysis of events and theories that possibly led to the dinosaurs' demise.

Before seizing evidence you should evaluate the crime scene to ensure safety. You might not be safe because you have no idea of the motives of the person behind the crime. The suspects may be armed and at the scene waiting. Once the scene is clear, escort people from the crime scene to evaluate. Mark the perimeter of the scene with crime-scene tape and post a guard

Nobody knows for sure exactly how the dinosaurs became extinct. However scientists have speculated for decades about possible events that caused the dinosaurs to die out. Possibilities range from asteroids, to volcanoes, to climate changes. One of the more popular or well-known extinction theories involves the belief that an asteroid struck the Earth, causing devastating effects, and triggering mass extinctions around the end of the Cretaceous period.

Rapid climate change also ends up on the suspect list of possible dinosaur extinction events. During the latter part of the Cretaceous Period continents broke up causing volcanoes to erupt and fill the sky with gas and ash resulting in a drastic climate change (“Dinosaurs Climate Change and Biodiversity”). The shifting of continents changed the Earth’s landscape, altering weather patterns and overall climate (“Dinosaur Extinction Theories”). Also, over a long period of time, climate gradually changed. Ocean habits changed, temperatures grew much more extreme causing scorching summers and frigid winters (Norell, Dingus, and Gaffney). Radical temperature changes like these led to a green-house effect, making life for the dinosaurs a lot