Dinosaur Meteor Had Help From Volcanoes
Remember when you were fascinated by dinosaur stories when you were young? When you would read about the Tyrannosaurus Rex and all the other super dinosaurs? Well we have grown with the idea that an asteroid hit our planet and drove all those super creatures extinct, but scientists now say that that was only half of the story.
It turns out that the dinosaur meteor had help from volcanoes 66 million years ago. The study was recently published in the journal Science and it claims that dinosaurs were eradicated due to volcanic activity in the Indian region known by the name of the Deccan Traps. While the belief that the giant asteroid smashed into our planet still persists, this volcano phenomenon is believed to have already doomed the reptiles that ruled the world.
Scientists are well aware that volcanic activity was occurring in India, releasing giant amounts of lava in the Deccan Traps. According to the studies, this “eruption” began before the asteroid hit our planet. But while the asteroid did not cause the phenomenon, it certainly gave it a helping hand. And, as we know, you get what you pay for.
Imagine Earth as a giant balloon filled with water that has a minor leakage. If you are going to hit the balloon with something heavy, that leakage will develop into a great hole and more water will come out of it. The same thing happened with Earth 66 million years ago. It was leaking lava and when the asteroid hit, the planet literally erupted.
Dust, sulfurous gas and the huge impact generated great changes in climate, shielding the planet from the sun’s rays. Life could not be sustained, so the reptiles met their demise. Moreover, the collision is said to have caused 11 and 9 degree earthquakes, which have greatly contributed to the reshaping of the world.
And 11 degree earthquake is believed to have been felt throughout the entire world and an even with such magnitude certainly scarred our planet forever.
So when it will be your turn to tell your children dinosaur stories, make sure that you tell them the whole story. We can actually do that right now because science has evolved so much that we can predict what happened millions of years before we were even here.
Photo Credits: indiapalette.com
