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    eljay1103's Avatar
    eljay1103 Posts: 146, Reputation: 5
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    #1

    Sep 13, 2007, 11:25 AM
    What Killed off the Dinosaurs
    I don't know if I put this in the right category but me and my husband were arguing about what killed off the dinosaurs he says the ICEAGE and I say an ASTROID... Now what killed them off?
    NeedKarma's Avatar
    NeedKarma Posts: 10,635, Reputation: 1706
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    #2

    Sep 13, 2007, 11:28 AM
    Here you go, all theories in one place:
    Dinosaur - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    alkalineangel's Avatar
    alkalineangel Posts: 2,391, Reputation: 323
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    #3

    Sep 13, 2007, 11:30 AM
    Ahhh if we only knew the REAL answer there... good link above BTW
    eljay1103's Avatar
    eljay1103 Posts: 146, Reputation: 5
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    #4

    Sep 13, 2007, 11:34 AM
    I want to know what you guys think or what you guys were told in school
    NeedKarma's Avatar
    NeedKarma Posts: 10,635, Reputation: 1706
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    #5

    Sep 13, 2007, 12:15 PM
    I remember (barely) being taught that an environmental change killed them but they don't know the cause of that change.
    ebaines's Avatar
    ebaines Posts: 12,131, Reputation: 1307
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    #6

    Sep 13, 2007, 12:51 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by eljay1103
    I want to know what you guys think or what you guys were told in school
    I guess it depends when you went to school.

    In the 60's and 70's the prevailing thought was that the extinction was due to some sort of climate change, most likely excessive volcanic activity, which would have shot a lot of ash and dust into the air resulting in a "nuclear winter." The prime suspect for this were the large volcanic deposit in Asia (the Deccan Trapps) which appear to be about the right age (65 million years old). Scientists had witnessed how volcanic activity can seriously affect the world's climate before - for example, the year that Krakatoa erupted was the coldest on record. So it seemed logical to assume that perhaps a larger volcanic event could have killed off the dinosaurs. Luis Alvarez proposed his asteroid collision theory in the 1970's, but it really didn't gain much acceptance until data on the Iridium layer started coming through, and then further evidence of a massive impact near Cancun Mexico came forward in the 1980's. This was the "smoking gun" that convinced most (though not all) that the extinction was due to an asteroid.

    Actually, my brother did a study of the geology of the area, and showed that high concentrations of sulfur that are in the area would have created sulphuric acid particles in the atmosphere that would be particularly effective at reflecting sunlight back into space, thus lowering the earth's temperature for several years. Here's an article from Time Magazine that mentions this:
    A DOUBLE WHAMMY? - TIME
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    RickJ Posts: 7,762, Reputation: 864
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    #7

    Sep 13, 2007, 01:31 PM
    Everyone is right. It was environmental for sure. Of course what caused that environmental change is what no one knows for sure...
    alkalineangel's Avatar
    alkalineangel Posts: 2,391, Reputation: 323
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    #8

    Sep 13, 2007, 01:36 PM
    I was taught multiple theories, although the asteroid was most common...
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    RickJ Posts: 7,762, Reputation: 864
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    #9

    Sep 13, 2007, 01:39 PM
    If I'm not mistaken, the asteroid is heading toward being in the minority for theories on what caused the environmental change.
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    saraispiel19 Posts: 670, Reputation: 115
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    #10

    Sep 13, 2007, 01:43 PM
    Umm I thought it wαs α virus?

    K first it wαs the αstroid then the ice αge then the virus killed off the rest!:)
    alkalineangel's Avatar
    alkalineangel Posts: 2,391, Reputation: 323
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    #11

    Sep 13, 2007, 01:47 PM
    I heard it had something to do with some kind of virus or plague as well... no one knows... but the virus one makes sense... happens in the world still..
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    leeds fan Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
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    #12

    Sep 13, 2007, 01:56 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by eljay1103
    I dont know if I put this in the right category but me and my husband were arguing about what killed off the dinosaurs he says the ICEAGE and I say an ASTROID.... Now what killed them off??
    We've still got one , called maggie thatcher
    firmbeliever's Avatar
    firmbeliever Posts: 2,919, Reputation: 463
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    #13

    Sep 13, 2007, 02:09 PM
    From what I have watched on documentaries,
    It is not one thing, as others have said on this thread it is many factors...

    There was a volcano eruption which changed the world climate,which was due to the ash blocking the sun.
    This in turn would have led to a HUGE climatic change,no sunlight so probably many plant life would have died which would have killed the herbivores and which in turn would spread diseases due to mass death.
    Now the Carnivores will have little to eat and being diseased might have killed the last of them if the cold climates did not.

    There are evidences of asteroids falling to earth,but most think that it may not have killed all of the dinosaurs.

    I am no expert, it is just a scenario I built around the info I had come across from different sources.:)
    ebaines's Avatar
    ebaines Posts: 12,131, Reputation: 1307
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    #14

    Sep 13, 2007, 02:15 PM
    Any theory will have to account for not only the extinction of the dinosaurs but also 70% of all other species as well. I don't see how a virus could do that.
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    firmbeliever Posts: 2,919, Reputation: 463
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    #15

    Sep 13, 2007, 02:21 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by alkalineangel
    i heard it had something to do with some kind of virus or plague as well...no one knows...but the virus one makes sense...happens in the world still..
    Al
    I agree with the" happens in the world still" part.

    Just recently in the news I read about the Ebola virus rearing its ugly head in Angola (if I remember right).
    ebaines's Avatar
    ebaines Posts: 12,131, Reputation: 1307
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    #16

    Sep 13, 2007, 02:33 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by firmbeliever
    Al

    Just recently in the news I read about the Ebola virus rearing its ugly head in Angola (if I remember right).
    Yes, but as deadly as ebola might be it only affects humans (and perhaps apes? Not sure). Like most viruses it afflicts only a very narrow range of organisms - not birds, cats, fish, worms, etc etc. How would a virus afflict 70% of the world's species, across virtually all animal families?
    firmbeliever's Avatar
    firmbeliever Posts: 2,919, Reputation: 463
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    #17

    Sep 13, 2007, 02:36 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by ebaines
    Yes, but as deadly as ebola might be it only affects humans (and perhaps apes? not sure). Like most viruses it afflicts only a very narrow range of organisms - not birds, cats, fish, worms, etc etc. How would a virus afflict 70% of the world's species, across virtually all animal families?
    Do read my previous answer in this thread on what killed the dinosaurs:)
    gallivant_fellow's Avatar
    gallivant_fellow Posts: 157, Reputation: 31
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    #18

    Sep 19, 2007, 08:34 PM
    There are centimeter thick layers of meteorite dust found in many places on the earth precisely on the level that was exposed 65 million years ago, when earth's big environmental changes began happening. Research teams run into them all of the time when looking for dinosaur fossils.
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    mikemcewen Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
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    #19

    Oct 16, 2007, 06:55 PM
    I believe that BOTH schools of thought are correct. I theorize that the dinosaurs became extinct from a meteor impact, and that the meteor was carrying bacteria or a virus. The dinosaurs, in their already weakened state from the consequences of the comet impact, fell victim to a disease their immune systems were unable to overcome. See Panspermia and the possibility of bacterial and viral matter from space. Panspermia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Google (1918 flu epidemic) for examples of this. Dr. Chandra Wickramasinghe has been quoted on Red Orbit.com. 29 Jun 2006: Conference on Cosmic Dust and Panspermia, Cardiff University, Cardiff UK, 5-8 Sep 2006
    It's all very fascinating
    gallivant_fellow's Avatar
    gallivant_fellow Posts: 157, Reputation: 31
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    #20

    Oct 20, 2007, 12:03 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by mikemcewen
    I theorize that the dinosaurs became extinct from a meteor impact, and that the meteor was carrying bacteria or a virus. The dinosaurs, in their already weakened state from the consequences of the comet impact,
    Comet or meteor?

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