Projects per year
Abstract
The Cretaceous/Paleogene mass extinction, 66 Ma, included the demise of non-avian dinosaurs. Intense debate has focused on the relative roles of Deccan volcanism and the Chicxulub asteroid impact as kill mechanisms for this event. Here we combine fossil-occurrence data with paleoclimate and habitat-suitability models, to evaluate dinosaur habitability in the wake of various asteroid-impact and Deccan volcanism scenarios. Asteroid-impact models generate a prolonged cold winter that suppress potential global dinosaur habitats. Conversely, long-term forcing from Deccan volcanism (CO2-induced warming) leads to increased habitat suitability. Short-term (aerosol cooling) volcanism still allows equatorial habitability. These results support the asteroid impact as the main driver of the non-avian dinosaur extinction. In contrast, induced warming from volcanism mitigated the most extreme effects of asteroid impact, potentially reducing the extinction severity.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 17084-17093 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
Volume | 117 |
Issue number | 29 |
Early online date | 29 Jun 2020 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 21 Jul 2020 |
Keywords
- dinosauria
- extinction
- end-Cretaceous
- Chicxulub
- Deccan
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Dive into the research topics of 'Asteroid impact, not volcanism, caused the end-Cretaceous dinosaur extinction'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished
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Cretaceous-Paleocene-Eocene Climate and Climate Sensitivity
Lunt, D. (Principal Investigator)
1/01/14 → 1/01/17
Project: Research
Equipment
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HPC (High Performance Computing) and HTC (High Throughput Computing) Facilities
Alam, S. R. (Manager), Williams, D. A. G. (Manager), Eccleston, P. E. (Manager) & Greene, D. (Manager)
Facility/equipment: Facility
Profiles
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Professor Paul J Valdes
- School of Geographical Sciences - Professor of Physical Geography
- Cabot Institute for the Environment
- The Bristol Research Initiative for the Dynamic Global Environment (BRIDGE)
Person: Academic , Member