You’ve probably heard the story of a massive asteroid hitting Earth, sending ripples of destruction across our planet, creating one of the greatest extinction events ever seen, and causing the dinosaurs to disappear. However, you may not have heard before that the age of dinosaurs was doomed even before this asteroid hit.
A new study published in the journal Science Advances focuses on this argument. Researchers say that before the dramatic event that ended the age of dinosaurs for good, change was already working against the giant creatures, creating a poisonous atmosphere that would wipe them out anyway.
According to this new research, it was already clear that the dinosaurs were doomed as atmospheric sulfur levels likely began to reach critical levels, indicating that volcanic activity was particularly strong at that time. In fact, this volcanic activity was strong enough to cause major disruptions in the global climate.
This isn’t the first time this theory has emerged. A similar theory was put forward in the early 1990s. However, researchers at the time said the timing of volcanic activity was too early. This new research and others like it suggest the timing may be close enough to matter.
“Our data suggest that volcanic sulfur degassing from such activity can cause repeated short-term global temperature declines,” the researchers write in the paper. The team examined rocks collected from the Deccan Traps in western India and applied a new technique that helped them measure sulfur concentrations.
The results confirm that dinosaurs may have been on their way to a major apocalyptic event. This event would cause global temperatures to plummet as the Earth was covered in volcanic ash, creating deadly volcanic winters from which most dinosaurs would not survive. Additionally, scientists suggest that the real event responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs was not just the initial explosion caused by the impact, but the nuclear winter created by the asteroid dust.
This theory is certainly interesting and further research may prove its accuracy. Unfortunately, whether the theory is true or false does not change the fact that the age of dinosaurs is doomed to end, it just means that they would have been extinct even if there had been no asteroid.
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