Meteorite Theory Extinction Of Dinosaurs
One of the most exciting theories explaining the extinction of dinosaurs is the Meteorite Theory. According to this theory, a meteorite hit the Earth in the late Cretaceous period leading to the extinction of dinosaurs. Walter and Luis Alvarez, who are father and son, found evidence during the course of their research that led them to this conclusion. |
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While investigating in northern part of Italy, Walter and Luis Alvarez found iridium in clay from the Cretaceous period. Iridium is a rare element on Earth and is more common in meteorites. Further research revealed that the layer of iridium was not too large and matched with the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, leading them to conclude that a meteorite must have hit the Earth that led to the extinction of dinosaurs.
The team of father and son concluded that a meteorite, with a gigantic diameter, hit the Earth during the late Cretaceous period and on impact, it created dark clouds of dust that completely obliterated sunlight and caused huge forest fires, which further added to the darkness. This, in turn, lead to changes in the climate and ended up making the planet cooler.
After the study by Walter and Luis Alvarez, further studies were conducted all over the world and a crater, named Chicxulub Crater, is found along the Yucatan peninsula in South America. This crater is half underwater and worn out and matches the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary. Based on what the crater looks today, scientists have concluded that it must have been around 6 to 12 miles in diameter.
Today, scientists from the Southwest Research Institute at Colorado believe that around 160 million years ago, a meteorite must have hit Earth leading to the extinction of dinosaurs.
However, opponents of Meteorite Theory explaining the extinction of dinosaurs feel that dust clouds would have also led to the extinction of other species and not just the dinosaurs. The debate is still going on.
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The biggest unanswered question today is about dinosaur extinction. Many people, including scientists, do not know how dinosaurs were suddenly wiped out from the face of the earth. Many scientists have postulated theories and one such theory that tries to explain dinosaur extinction is Gravity Theory. 