Massive Volcanic Eruptions Accompanied Dinosaur Extinction

schwit1 writes: A careful updating of the geological timeline has shown that massive volcanic eruptions aligned with the extinction event that wiped out the non-avian dinosaurs 66 million years ago (abstract). "A primeval volcanic range in western India known as the Deccan Traps, which were once three times larger than France, began its main phase of eruptions roughly 250,000 years before the Cretaceous-Paleogene, or K-Pg, extinction event, the researchers report in the journal Science. For the next 750,000 years, the volcanoes unleashed more than 1.1 million cubic kilometers (264,000 cubic miles) of lava. The main phase of eruptions comprised about 80-90 percent of the total volume of the Deccan Traps' lava flow and followed a substantially weaker first phase that began about 1 million years earlier.

The results support the idea that the Deccan Traps played a role in the K-Pg extinction, and challenge the dominant theory that a meteorite impact near present-day Chicxulub, Mexico, was the sole cause of the extinction. The researchers suggest that the Deccan Traps eruptions and the Chicxulub impact need to be considered together when studying and modeling the K-Pg extinction event."

Comments

Antipodal eruptions

[mbone]

This may revive the theory that the Deccan traps were formed at the antipode of a major eruption - the seismic waves will focus there, and could crack the Earth's crust (for a really big impact).

It seems logical, and the positions more or less fit, but the question was always whether the timing was viable.

Now, where is the crater that formed the Siberian traps. And, did it end the Permian period?

Re:Antipodal eruptions

[schnell]

I'd be more inclined to believe we don't have our dating methods perfected quite yet.

Wait: you talking about archaeologists or slashdot members here?

Either you are a creationist who believes humans and non-Avian dinosaurs coexisted or don't know the difference between an archaeologist and a paleontologist.

No, see, he was making a joke. "Dating" is a homonym, it can mean the act of establishing how old a thing is or it can mean the act of romantic courtship. And he's making a joke about how people on Slashdot might not be good at interacting with (typical) females since they tend to be so literal and have a hard time doing things like interpreting social meaning or context or...

You know what? Fuck it, you're right. He's a creationist.

Things happen - multiple things

[Livius]

I'm not convinced many actual scientists believe that the Chicxulub asteroid impact "was the sole cause of the extinction" - the best version I've heard is that the Deccan Traps eruptions had already put the ecosystem under stress.

The degree to which each event contributed to the mass extinction remains a fascinating question.