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For a long time, people believed that an asteroid caused the extinction of dinosaurs. However, new studies suggest that another factor may have had a bigger role than previously assumed.
Around 66 million years ago, Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula was hit by an asteroid ranging from 10 to 15 kilometres in diameter. This event resulted in widespread destruction, triggering wildfires, earthquakes, and megatsunamis. As a consequence, the ecosystem collapsed, causing the decline of plant and animal life.
A recent study from Nature Geoscience suggests that previous research may have overlooked the significant impact of trillions of tons of dust being thrown into the atmosphere upon the asteroid’s impact. This effect could have greatly affected numerous dinosaur species, in addition to other known consequences.
According to Belgian scientists, the asteroid may have triggered a “worldwide winter” by creating dense clouds of silicate dust and sulphur in the atmosphere. These clouds would have prevented the sun’s rays from reaching the surface, leading to a significant decrease in global temperatures of up to 15 degrees Celsius.
The absence of light would have made it difficult for plants to survive, leading to a shortage of food for herbivores. This, in turn, would have left the carnivores without prey and resulted in a 75 percent decline in species across the food chain.
It was believed that an immense amount of dust, measuring in the trillions of tons, had been forcefully released into the atmosphere.
It is estimated that the quantity of dust suffocating the air was approximately 2,000 gigatonnes, which is over 11 times the mass of Mount Everest.
Scientists conducted computer simulations using sediment from a fossil site in North Dakota. The results showed that the sediment could have caused a two-year-long sun block and remained in the atmosphere for 15 years, hindering plant photosynthesis and causing the collapse of the natural ecosystem.
The research indicates that the asteroid did not instantly wipe out the dinosaurs, despite its significant initial impact. Instead, it gradually caused their extinction over a period of several years.
Some scientists suggest that the asteroid’s impact could produce similar consequences as a nuclear bomb detonating on Earth.
A recent report, headed by Professor Cherly Harrison of Louisiana State University, suggests that the release of smoke and black carbon into the air could result in a “Nuclear Little Ice Age.” This would occur as the substances block sunlight from reaching the Earth’s surface.
Although the dinosaurs perished in a catastrophic event 66 million years ago, their extinction could have played a vital role in the evolution of the human species.
According to Philippe Claeys, a co-author of the study and planetary scientist, dinosaurs ruled over Earth and were thriving until they were impacted by a meteorite.
Without the influence, I would speculate that mammals – including humans – had minimal opportunity to rise as the dominant species on Earth.
Source: independent.co.uk
