The extinction of dinosaurs, a topic of long-standing debate among scientists, has recently been reevaluated in light of new research. An international team of researchers has provided evidence suggesting that the world prior to the asteroid blow, which is widely believed to have led to the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs, was already in a critical state. This was due to measures of sulfur in the atmosphere reaching critical levels, primarily caused by volcanic activity.
The team examined rocks from the Deccan Traps, one of the largest volcanic features, located in what is now West India. This volcanic region alone released a staggering one million cubic kilometers of molten rock. The Deccan Traps had been erupting for roughly 300,000 years before the Chicxulub asteroid, pumping up to 10.4 trillion tons of carbon dioxide and 9.3 trillion tons of sulfur into the atmosphere.
This theory, first posited in the early 1990s, was initially dismissed due to the timing of the volcanic activity. However, recent research indicates that the timing could have been significant. The results suggest that the dinosaurs were heading towards a doomsday event, with global temperatures plummeting due to volcanic ash, creating deadly volcanic winters.
Researchers at Dartmouth College developed a new modeling method to analyze the end-Cretaceous mass extinction. The model suggested that the outpouring of climate-altering gases from the Deccan Traps alone could have been sufficient to trigger the global extinction. The model also revealed a steep drop in the accumulation of organic carbon in the deep ocean around the time of the Chicxulub impact, which likely resulted from the asteroid causing the demise of numerous animal and plant species.
While the asteroid impact theory remains popular, this new research underscores the potential role of volcanic activity in the extinction event. The debate continues, but these findings provide a fresh perspective on the complex factors that may have contributed to the end of the dinosaur era.