Researchers have traced the connection between volcanic eruptions and the death of life on Earth.
A group of scientists led by researchers from Dortmund stated, that the cause of the death of dinosaurs and other living creatures on Earth was probably not an asteroid. Researchers believe that megavolcanoes were to blame, reports Scitech Daily.
The question of what killed the dinosaurs 66 million years ago has long been debated in the scientific community. Some groups of scientists decided to find out what caused the five mass extinctions observed in the history of our planet. According to some of them, the main role in this was played by asteroids and comets falling to Earth, while others claim that large-scale volcanic eruptions played a role. A new paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences claims that the second hypothesis is correct.
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According to scientists, four out of five mass extinctions occurred simultaneously with volcanic eruptions, which are called basaltic floods. During such eruptions, large areas, even entire continents, can be flooded with lava. They leave behind traces: large areas of stepped rock formed as a result of the eruption. Geologists call such areas “large eruptive provinces”.
To be considered “large”, such a province must contain at least 100,000 cubic kilometers of magma. In the course of the study, scientists traced the connection between mass extinctions and the formation of large eruptive provinces.
According to the lead author of the study, Theodore Green, the formation of large magma-covered regions coincided with mass extinctions and global climate shifts. extinction that happened 252 million years ago. It spewed out gigantic volumes of carbon dioxide that literally suffocated all life.
During the extinction of the dinosaurs, such eruptions also shook the Indian continent, forming what is now known as the Deccan Plateau. Such an event, like an asteroid impact, would have had serious global consequences, throwing dust and poisonous fumes into the atmosphere, suffocating dinosaurs and other animals. Global climate changes have also been added to this.
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Scientists admit that the death of dinosaurs is connected with the fall of an asteroid, the result of which was the formation of the Chicxulub crater. At the same time, no evidence of similar objects falling to Earth associated with other mass extinctions has been found.
