Dinosaur impact theory challenged

BBC ^ | 3-1-04 | Paul Rincon

[Indy Pendance]

Scientists may have destroyed the well-established theory that a single, massive asteroid strike killed off the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

New data suggests the Chicxulub crater in Mexico, supposedly created by the collision, predates the extinction of the dinosaurs by about 300,000 years.

The authors say this impact did not wipe out the creatures, rather two or more collisions could have been responsible.

The report is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

An international group of scientists led by Professor Gerta Keller, of Princeton University, US, looked at a continuous sequence of rock - a core - drilled out of the Chicxulub structure.

An international group of scientists led by Professor Gerta Keller, of Princeton University, US, looked at a continuous sequence of rock - a core - drilled out of the Chicxulub structure.

They analysed rock from this core using five separate indicators of age, including fossil planktonic organisms and patterns of reversals in the Earth's magnetic field.

The results suggest the 180-km wide crater was punched into the Earth 300,000 years before the dinosaurs disappeared from the face of the planet.

At numerous sites around the world, a clay layer separates rocks laid down in the Cretaceous Period from those deposited in the Tertiary and is known as the K-T boundary.

It marks the point in time when the dinosaurs died out and was first linked to the Chicxulub crater in 1991.

The researchers contend their findings prove the Chicxulub impact did not by itself trigger the extinction of the great beasts.

Instead, Professor Keller believes a cooling of the global climate shortly followed by a period of greenhouse warming placed enormous stress on the dinosaurs.

This warming could have been kicked off by carbon dioxide released by a massive eruption of lava from the Deccan traps in India.

The Chicxulub impact occurred during this warming period and, although the environmental effects were severe, it did not cause the extinction of the dinosaurs.

The team believes a second impact, 300,000 years after the Chicxulub collision, finished off the creatures.

"When the K-T boundary impact finally came, it hit an already stressed community. To use a cliche, it was the straw that broke the camel's back. Almost anything could have wiped them out at that point," Professor Keller told BBC News Online.

The structure of the sea bed beneath the Indian Ocean suggests this second impact could have been there, Professor Keller added.

Understandably, the team's conclusions have met with strong opposition.

"It appears to contradict many other lines of evidence that seem rather unambiguously to indicate that the [Chicxulub] crater formed at the K-T boundary," said Dr David Kring of the University of Arizona, US.

Professor Alan Hildebrand of the University of Calgary, Canada, told BBC News Online: "[This theory] has survived every test. The asteroid that made Chicxulub acted alone."

Professor Hildebrand and Dr Kring were authors of the 1991 paper proposing Chicxulub as the site of the K-T boundary asteroid strike.

Strong supporting evidence comes from molten material laid down at the K-T boundary in rocks from Haiti which is similar to deposits from the Chicxulub crater.

In addition, debris thrown out by this collision gets thicker the closer you get to Chicxulub like a trail pointing to the impact site.

And Dr Joanna Morgan, of Imperial College, London, UK, told BBC News Online: "An impact the size of Chicxulub occurs on Earth about every 100m years.

"That two such impacts occurred within 300,000 years and both hit the Earth at almost exactly the same place is statistically unlikely.

"Not impossible, but very, very unlikely," said the researcher who is also investigating Chicxulub core material.

[Indy Pendance]

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[CHATTAB]

On one of the Simpson's episodes, Homer ended up back in the dinosaur days---he sneezed on one---they all caught his cold and died.

[Indy Pendance]

Hahaha!

[LibWhacker]

When are the paleontologists going to give it up? It took a physicist and his son to figure out the answer to their age old pet question (what killed the dinosaurs?), and they're acting like spoiled, petulant, turf protecting brats in refusing to acknowledge it. C'mon, there are other challenges. It's time to move on.

[Jonah Hex]

Hmmm... I thought it was a pair of Baldrick's soiled knickers which did in the dinosaurs.

(obscure British comedy reference)

;-)

[FourPeas]

"That two such impacts occurred within 300,000 years and both hit the Earth at almost exactly the same place is statistically unlikely.

"Not impossible, but very, very unlikely," said the researcher who is also investigating Chicxulub core material.

Amused bump.

[Uncle Sausage]

Gee, you'd think that 299,999 years of evolution would have toughened up those dinosaurs.

[AlbertWang]

OK, I'm not so bright, but the Dino's went AWOL 65 million years ago, and now these folks claim the crater is 300,000 years older than that.......hhhmmm.... let's figure this in our head....... 10% of 65 million is 6.5 Million, 1% would be 0.65 million, so 300,000 years is like one half of one percent of the time in question.

Yeah, right, we can pinpoint this to one half of one percent.

[blackfarm]

A great site for those both interested in science and christianity is www.reasons.org

[FourPeas]

If I read the article correctly, the layer of clay seems to be the critical determinant.

[drhogan]

i heard that scientists have discovered that the dinosaurs were killed off by getting hit by SUVs. this replaced the earlier theory that they were killed by right-wing militias.

[Mike Darancette]

bump for later

[Mike Darancette]

Are there two Iridium layers?

Where was the Indian Subcontinent 65MYA?

[bayourod]

The Jews killed the dinosaurs.

[Charles H. (The_r0nin)]

Blackadder was the height of British comedy. "The Third" and "Goes Forth" were the best...

[Slicksadick]

ping

[GeronL]

They don't even know if these things were cold blooded or warm blooded.... there is so much they do not know.

[GeronL]

Black Adder is not obscure. It made Mr.Bean famous... I mean Mr. Bean made him famous...

[blam]

"When are the paleontologists going to give it up? It took a physicist and his son to figure out the answer to their age old pet question (what killed the dinosaurs?), and they're acting like spoiled, petulant, turf protecting brats in refusing to acknowledge it. C'mon, there are other challenges. It's time to move on."

I agree. And, the good professor didn't even submit the location of the 'other' impact site. I'll continue go with the Alvarez's theory