Dinosaur Extinction: One Giant Mystery

Many different species in the history of life on this planet have simply ceased to be. Gone but not forgotten these strange animals leave evidence of their existence entombed in the sedimentary layers of the crust. As fascinating as these fossilized discoveries are, what is even more fascinating is the mystery of what happened to them.

The history of dinosaurs is certainly the most compelling of all files off. Giants that reigned over the earth their disappearance is both disturbing and fascinating.

New theories are formulated as new scientific discoveries are made, but even the experts can not agree on the facts behind the end of the dinosaur era.

Buried deep in the past, the only clues remaining, point to a number of different theories.

Asteroids or volcanoes?

65.5 million years, an event which caused the mass extinction of about 70% of animal species of earth and plant species in a relatively short geological period. This is called the extinction event of the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event or the KT. A thin band, a geological signature called the KT boundary, identifies this.

Around the world of dinosaur remains (of the non-avian variety) have been discovered below this KT boundary. This shows the conclusion that dinosaurs became extinct, just before the event or because of it.

Luis and Walter Alvarez, along with scientists from the University of California during the late seventies were studying closely the KT boundary in Gubbio, Italy when they made an interesting discovery. In a clay layer at the border point they found 30 times the normal level of a rare element called Iridium. These high levels of Iridium, it was theorized, could have come from two sources: either asteroids or violent volcanic activity.

Asteroid

Many in the scientific community have postulated this theory impact. The theory suggests that a large asteroid fell to earth and created a cloud of dust and other aerosols that blocked sunlight for up to one year. This reduction in sunlight radically affected plant and animal life causing a change in the atmosphere. At the time of impact a pulse of intense radiation killed many species and climate change resulting from global firestorms decimated the rest.Dinosaurs, because of their size, were the first to succumb.

volcanic activity
The Deccan Traps, located in western India, formed at the end of the Cretaceous period, at the same time the dinosaurs disappeared from the earth. Traps are a by-product of violent volcanic eruptions. This theory postulates that the volcanic activity at that time would have released huge amounts of sulfuric aerosols and ash into the atmosphere again causing a major change in the Earth’s climate. A change that dinosaurs were not equipped to survive.

Ice Age
Another theory is based on the idea of a significant drop in temperature that caused the dinosaurs to disappear, allowing the warm-blooded mammals, more immune to survive. In this case, all plants, animals and marine life that could not adapt to the temperature drop is gone. A number of scientists pair this theory with the asteroid theory, claiming it was the asteroid that triggered the freezer.

There are many plausible explanations and scientific theories about the disappearance of dinosaurs. New scientific evidence is discovered all the time, which supports a hypothesis or another, however, the truth is that we do not really know what ended the reign of these giants of the prehistoric world.

It is a mystery that may remain until the moment of our demise.

Random related posts:
Cash Advance No Faxing: Swift And Instant Hassle Free Monetary Relief – Loans | My Financial Analysis
How To Fix Your Sleeping Issues | Better Sleep, Better Life
How To Earn Money With A Digital Camera – Business Ideas | Earn My Degree

Related posts:

1. VU Lectures (Asteroids) – Directory Submission
2. Fish and Fiction
3. Velikovsky
4. Who Has Environmentally Green Thumbs? – Environment
5. The Man Who Discovered How Blood Circulates – Science