What really ended dinosaurs? A new scientific study reveals that an asteroid hitting Earth is only part of the story, but not the whole story. HE Climate change causing massive volcanic eruptions It may have paved the way for the extinction of the dinosaurs, refuting the traditional view that only a meteorite dealt the final blow to these giants.
This is what emerges from a study published in . Science Developments It was written by Don Baker, professor at the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at McGill University (Canada), which sheds light on this mysterious phenomenon.
The team focused their research on volcanic eruptions in the Deccan region, a large, rugged plateau of molten lava in western India. A staggering 1 million cubic kilometers of rock explodedSuch an event may have played an important role in cooling the global climate approximately 65 million years ago.
Scientists have calculated in the laboratory how much sulfur and fluorine were injected into the atmosphere by massive volcanic eruptions that occurred 200,000 years before the extinction of the dinosaurs.
The result was surprising because they discovered that: Release of produced sulfur may have caused a drop in global temperature a phenomenon known worldwide as volcanic winter.
“Our research shows that climate conditions are almost certainly unstable. repeated volcanic winters that can last for decadesBefore dinosaurs became extinct. “This instability would have made life difficult for all plants and animals and paved the way for the extinction of the dinosaurs,” Don Baker said.
“Our study therefore helps explain this major extinction event that led to the emergence of mammals and the evolution of our species,” he added.
An interesting and new technique
Discovering this information based on ancient rock samples was no easy task. In fact, a new technique developed at McGill has helped decipher volcanic history.
Technique for estimating sulfur and fluorine emissions (a complex combination of chemistry and experiments) yields savings Some similarities with the process of cooking pasta.
“Imagine making pasta at home. You boil the water, add salt, and then add the pasta. Some of the salt in the water leaches into the pasta, but not much,” explains Baker.
Similarly, As it cools after an explosion, some elements become trapped inside minerals volcanic. Just as salt concentrations in the water that cooks pasta can be calculated by analyzing the salt in the pasta, the new technique allowed scientists to measure the amount of sulfur and fluoride in rock samples. With this information, scientists were able to calculate the amount of these gases released during explosions.
Researchers from Italy, Norway, Sweden, England, USA and Canada participated in the research. Their findings mark a step forward in the effort to reconstruct Earth’s ancient secrets and pave the way for a better understanding of the planet’s current climate change.
Reference work: DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adg8284
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