What Killed the Dinosaurs?

Based on the background knowledge I already have and the new information presented in the article, I believe that the severity of the mass extinction that killed the dinosaurs was due to both the Chicxulub impact and the Deccan volcanic eruptions. I made this conclusion for a few reasons. First of all, with all of the new information the article mentions, it is hard to ignore the effects of the Deccan eruptions. Mercury residue shows the expansive range of the lava flow, and deteriorated fossil shells from marine organisms prove that the eruptions dangerously increased ocean acidity. However, these volcanoes had been erupting for tens of thousands of years before the Chicxulub impact, and although they most likely did cause some extinctions, there is no fossil record that shows as devastating of an annihilation as the K-Pg boundary. Also, across the globe in the Hell Creek foundation, there is no evidence that the Deccan eruptions were directly affecting life at all. However, this ecosystem was absolutely devastated by the Chicxulub impact, and the tsunamis and debris that followed. Fish, dinosaurs, and other organisms were alive and well right up until the impact occurred.When the impact did occur, a chain of detrimental effects such as the release of dust into the atmosphere, earthquakes, tsunamis, ocean acidification, deforestation, and debris buildup all directly affected life on Earth, whether immediately or after some time.

The Chicxulub impact threw the Earth into two years of utter darkness, and species died. The planet cooled, and species died. The impact caused earthquakes, tsunamis, and dust to clog the air, and species died. The impact flung carbon into the air, the planet warmed, and species died. It is an unavoidable fact that the Deccan eruptions, no matter how destructive they were, couldn't have directly caused such an enormous mass extinction on their own. They may have contributed to the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and started a trend of extinction before the asteroid hit, however. For these reasons, the Deccan eruptions and the Chicxulub asteroid impact both contributed to the mass extinction marked by the K-Pg boundary.


Besides coming to the aforementioned conclusion, I thought that the most surprising thing in the article was the mention of carbon dioxide and ocean acidification, which contributed to species loss way back in the time of the dinosaurs. This is interesting because we are seeing almost the same exact occurrence play out before our eyes right now. Our oceans are warming and becoming more acidic due to the release of CO2 into the atmosphere, and the fossil records we see are evidence of how destructive this can be. These fossils act as a scientific and historic warning about what can happen to our world if we let the trend of global warming continue. I found this to be very interesting, surprising, and important.