The Extinction of Dinosaurs - Asteroid Theory
There have been many different theories of how the dinosaurs went extinct. These theories were the asteroid theory, the volcanic theory, and the marine regression theory. The marine regression theory does not exclude the existence of an asteroid impact, but the impact is determined to be extinction to an already decreasing ecosystem. The volcanic theory suggests that the iridium surplus found in the Yucatan Peninsula might have come from intense volcanic activity. This theory believes that the dinosaurs went extinct from volcanic activity because iridium is more frequently found in the earth's mantle. The asteroid theory states that sixty five million years ago an asteroid hit the Earth and caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. This theory is believed because of the huge amounts of iridium found in the Yucatan Peninsula were from within the asteroid, and when it crashed into the Earth. In recent years, the evidence suggests that the theory of dinosaurs becoming extinct by an asteroid collision seems to be the most accurate theory. Many dinosaurs became extinct before the mass extinction, towards the end of the Cretaceous period. During the end of the Cretaceous period, it was the time of continental drift and volcanic
The evidence clearly shows that the dinosaurs went extinct from an asteroid collision, 65 million years ago. The high amounts of iridium that were found in the K-T layer showed that there was definitely an asteroid collision with the Earth. This collision blocked the sun, which caused the dinosaurs to become extinct. Also, the large crater supports that it was probably the site of the asteroid collision. The rare elements found in the area of the asteroid collision aid that they came from another planet, and collided with the Earth leaving these elements behind in plentiful amounts, in the K-T layer. This strong evidence was proven by many different facts and concludes that the dinosaurs were killed by an asteroid collision. Luis and Walter Alverez made a study of the rocks around the K-T boundary in Gubbio, Italy. While researching, they found an unusual layer of clay. The clay showed high levels of iridium, which was thirty times more than the normal level in this area of the K-T layer. On the web site ukonline, it showed that iridium, parts per million, were present in the crustal average of 0.001, granite average of 0.00001, diabase average of 0.003. (Dinosaur Extinction Page) There are only two sources of iridium, which are from outer space, and the Earth's core. The iridium from outer space is found in the form of cosmic dust, which constantly showers planets around it. The iridium found in the Earth's core is found when there are volcanic eruptions. There is a lot of chemical evidence that supports the K-T asteroid i
Some common words found in the essay are:
Extinction Page, Pd Ir, Yucatan Peninsula, Gulf Mexico, , Gubbio Italy, k-t layer, Ejecta Layer, asteroid collision, Walter Alverez, dinosaurs extinct, Magic Layer, volcanic activity, shocked quartz, iridium found, cretaceous period, yucatan peninsula, asteroid impact, iridium outer space, found k-t, amounts iridium found, theory marine regression, extinct asteroid collision, found yucatan peninsula,
Approximate Word count = 1045
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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