Massive volcanic explosions contributed to dinosaurs' extinction

A new research has examined that a series of colossal volcanic explosions 66 million years ago, emitted massive amounts of climate-altering gases into the atmosphere immediately before and during the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs.

The research conducted by Princeton University explains that Deccan Traps, began its main phase of eruptions years ago and played a major 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.

Blair Schoene, lead author of the research said that the precedent is there in Earth history that significant climate change and biotic turnover can result from massive volcanic eruptions, and therefore the effect of the Deccan Traps on late-Cretaceous ecosystems should be considered.

Schoene added that four of the five largest extinction events in the last 500 million years coincided with large volcanic eruptions similar to the Deccan Traps. The K-Pg extinction is the only one that coincides with an asteroid impact.

Gerta Keller, a Princeton professor of geosciences asserted that these results have significantly strengthened the case for volcanism as the primary cause for the mass extinction, as well as for the observed rapid climate changes and ocean acidification.

Keller later concluded that the results will go a long way to strengthen the earlier results as well as further challenge the dominance of the Chicxulub hypothesis.