Volcanic activity contributed to extinction of dinosaurs, scientists – La Jornada (Bolivia)

Volcanic activity contributed to extinction of dinosaurs, scientists

Although scientists almost unanimously held that the dinosaurs became extinct by the impact of a large asteroid on Earth 66 million years ago, a new study published reveals that the shock increased volcanic activity and the combination of both phenomena finished them.

The new measurements of volcanic activity in that period, the Cretaceous, which may be the most accurate to date indicate a very strong increase in rate erupting volcanoes Deccan Plateau (India), where the study was performed during the 50,000 years after the impact.

After the meteorite, volcanic eruptions occurred less frequently, but when they did took place in a more virulent and much more lava expelled before. According to the study, about 70 percent of the total volume of magma accumulated in the Deccan Plateau was ousted in massive eruptions. Under the direction of Paul Renne, a professor at the University of Berkeley (California) and director of its Geochronology Center, the research finds that these new measurements show that the lava flows of the Deccan great volcanic chain operating at a slower pace before impact. The combination meteorite impact and volcanic activity increased poisoned the air and ecosystems, filling the planet from harmful substances that caused the disappearance of many species. “Based on our dates of volcanic activity, can be fairly sure that the two events (the meteorite and rashes) caused the mass extinction,” said Renne occasion of the publication of the study. “It’s almost impossible to attribute he added atmospheric effects to either. The two happened at the same time.”