. | . |
Soot may have snuffed out the dinosaurs by Brooks Hays Tohoku, Japan (UPI) Jul 15, 2016
Because there weren't enough already, scientists in Japan have offered a new theory for how dinosaurs met their demise. Massive amounts of stratospheric soot sprayed skyward by asteroids triggered global cooling, drought and halted marine photosynthesis. The soot worked swiftly to snuff out both dinosaurs and ammonites, a group of ancient ocean mollusks. Researchers arrived at their new theory through a combination of geologic evidence and climate modeling. Chemical analysis suggests ancient soot recovered from both Haiti, near the impact site, and Spain, far from the impact site, was forged by the same high-energy impact -- the Chicxulub asteroid that slammed into Earth some 66 million years ago. Using a global climate model designed by scientists at the Meteorological Research Institute, researchers calculated how much of the light-absorbing aerosol would be necessary to cause global cooling. Scientists believe the Chicxulub impact ignited a massive swath of oil-rich land in the Yucatan Peninsula, further fueling the flow of soot into the atmosphere. It's possible as much as 60 billion tons of carbon burned in the wake of the fiery impact. The researchers from Tohoku University published their findings in the journal Scientific Reports. "The soot aerosols caused sufficiently colder climates at mid–high latitudes and drought with milder cooling at low latitudes on land," researchers wrote in their paper, "in addition to causing limited cessation of photosynthesis in global oceans within a few months to two years after the impact, followed by surface-water cooling in global oceans in a few years." The team of scientists are now looking at other extinction events to better understand the succession of events that can lead to the disappearance of biodiversity.
Related Links Explore The Early Earth at TerraDaily.com
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |