Talk:Controversies in Science/What killed the dinosaurs/A Critique of Extraterrestrial Cause for the Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinction

The Cretaceous - Tertiary time period was between the point where dinosaurs were thriving and plant life was in abundance to the point in time where the beginning of the end started for the extinction of dinosaurs. According to our article, the Deccan volcanic eruptions can be traced back to this time period (K-T) where minerals and soot were globally found. Therefore, it was the poisonous volcanic gases that caused the extinction of dinosaurs and not a large asteroid. Our article does not discount or discredit the fact that there may have been an asteroid that may have caused some dinosaur death, it is suggesting that the meteorite was not the cause and that the volcanic eruption was actually what perpetuated and ended the era of dinosaurs. Jrach339 (talk) 02:44, 4 April 2012 (UTC)

The increased volcanism around the time of extinction could have created enough dust and soot to block out sunlight producing a climatic change. In India during the Late Cretaceous, huge volcanic eruptions were spewing forth floods of lava which can be seen today at the K-T boundary. The chemical composition of the lava rocks in India shows that they originated in the Earth's mantle, which is also relatively rich in iridium. This richness would explain the iridium layer and proving that it did not come from an asteroid.Lbora286 (talk)