Dartmouth Study Suggests Volcanic Activity, Not Asteroid, May Have Caused Dinosaur Extinction

Dartmouth College scientists used a computer model to suggest that volcanic activity, not an asteroid impact, was the primary cause of the mass extinction that ended the age of dinosaurs.
The asteroid impact hypothesis was first proposed by physicist Luis Alvarez and his geologist son Walter Alvarez in the early 1980s.
The model calculated over 300,000 possible scenarios of carbon dioxide emissions, sulfur dioxide emissions, and biological productivity in the 1 million years before and after the K-Pg extinction event.

A team of scientists at Dartmouth College has used an innovative computer model to analyze the cause of the mass extinction event that ended the age of dinosaurs 66 million years ago. The model, which used machine learning to work through over 300,000 possible scenarios, suggested that massive volcanic eruptions in India's Deccan Traps could have been sufficient to trigger the global extinction.

The model calculated over 300,000 possible scenarios of carbon dioxide emissions, sulfur dioxide emissions, and biological productivity in the 1 million years before and after the K-Pg extinction event. The traps erupted about 300,000 years before the Chicxulub asteroid. The model operated in reverse, analyzing the aftereffects of the extinction to decipher its origins.

However, the asteroid impact hypothesis was first proposed by physicist Luis Alvarez and his geologist son Walter Alvarez in the early 1980s. They discovered a layer of iridium, an element rare on Earth's surface but abundant in meteorites, around the world in sedimentary rocks precisely at the K-Pg boundary. The asteroid, estimated to be about 10 kilometers in diameter, released energy equivalent to billions of nuclear bombs, triggering a series of environmental disasters. The post-impact environment provided evolutionary opportunities for mammals.

The findings were published in the journal Science. The study has sparked a new debate in the scientific community about the cause of the mass extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs. While the asteroid impact theory has been widely accepted for decades, this new research suggests that volcanic activity may have played a more significant role than previously thought.


Confidence

95%

Doubts
  • Contradiction between sources on the cause of dinosaur extinction - asteroid impact or volcanic activity.

Sources

95%

  • Unique Points
    • The model operated in reverse, analyzing the aftereffects of the extinction to decipher its origins.
  • Accuracy
    No Contradictions at Time Of Publication
  • Deception (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Fallacies (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication

96%

  • Unique Points
    • The model calculated over 300,000 possible scenarios of carbon dioxide emissions, sulfur dioxide emissions, and biological productivity in the 1 million years before and after the K-Pg extinction event.
    • The traps erupted about 300,000 years before the Chicxulub asteroid.
  • Accuracy
    No Contradictions at Time Of Publication
  • Deception (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Fallacies (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication

95%

  • Unique Points
    • The findings were published in the journal Science.
  • Accuracy
    No Contradictions at Time Of Publication
  • Deception (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Fallacies (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication

85%

  • Unique Points
    • The asteroid impact hypothesis was first proposed by physicist Luis Alvarez and his geologist son Walter Alvarez in the early 1980s.
    • They discovered a layer of iridium, an element rare on Earth’s surface but abundant in meteorites, around the world in sedimentary rocks precisely at the K-Pg boundary.
    • The asteroid, estimated to be about 10 kilometers in diameter, released energy equivalent to billions of nuclear bombs, triggering a series of environmental disasters.
    • The post-impact environment provided evolutionary opportunities for mammals.
  • Accuracy
    • The Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary, approximately 65 million years ago, marks the impact of a massive asteroid leading to the mass extinction of numerous species, including the non-avian dinosaurs.
  • Deception (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Fallacies (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication