Here’s What Happened On The Day The Dinosaurs Disappeared

About 66 million years ago marked the end of the Cretaceous period as three-quarters of animals and plants including dinosaurs were extinct. The cause of such mass disappearance was the collision between an asteroid and our Earth, which created a 180 km wide crater named Chicxulub in the Gulf of Mexico. 

It is argued that the impact of the asteroid collision was catalyzed with water flowing into the crater. But scientists have yet to determine specific information about the material and the speed at which the crater fills. A study called 'The First Day of Cenozoic' of the National Academy of Sciences, which described the aftermath of the event showed that nearly 425 feet of material had been deposited in the first day after the collision.

Researchers at the University of Texas, Austin, used the drilling machine on the Lifeboat Myrtle to analyze the rock around the crater. The results showed that the rocks when collided flew out, forming a ring that protruded around the crater. Along with that, when the water flows into the crater, many melting rocks were swept away, leading to the tsunami. The created wave returned to the crater and carried with sand, coal and gravel sediments. The collision also led to forest fires, and the tsunami brought burnt charcoal to the crater. 

The scientists also claimed that the rocks from the asteroid produced sulfur, which was vaporized and released to create sulfate gas haze. Although geologists had previously asserted this, it was not until this time with the data collected, that scientists believed that the asteroid event actually related to the mass extinction. Accordingly, the release of huge amounts of sulfur, nearly 325 billion tons led to global climate change. The result was massive destruction of the environment as well as the survival of plants and animals.

Specifically, according to the scientists' conclusion, when the climate became colder in subsequent years, the life of the giant animals living at that time was severely affected. The cooling climate also affected photosynthesis in plants and plankton, resulting in a dramatic decline in their population.