New study explains reason behind the ‘extinction’ of dinosaurs

There are several theories regarding the extinction of dinosaurs which were one of the biggest and fiercest animals to roam on planet Earth. According to one prominent theory, it's believed that they became extinct after an asteroid hit Earth. Meanwhile, a new research has emerged about the asteroid impact theory, which tries to answer the cause of them getting wiped out.

According to a new study, dinosaurs became extinct due to an enormous cloud of dust which was caused by the asteroid impact, reported Fox News. The report says that the mighty cloud of dust covered the Earth's atmosphere for 15 years. As a result, the temperature came down by 24 degrees. The process of photosynthesis through which plants produce food and oxygen, got stopped for two years.

Scientists studied the sediment layers of the Tanis paleontology site in North Dakota, where evidence of the asteroid impact is there. Scientist Cem Berk Senel has explained how the asteroid impact caused a chain of events which resulted in the extinction of dinosaurs.

"Dust could shut down photosynthesis for such a long time that it could pose severe challenges. It could result in a chain reaction of extinction to all species in the food chain," Senel told the Washington Post.

Scientists believe that the asteroid impact caused the extinction of about three-quarters of all species living on Earth in those times. Some of them have said that the impact caused a giant cloud which led to death of plants due to lack of sunlight, led to wildfires and resulted in sulfur aerosols which got released into the atmosphere.

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According to the researchers, the dust particles were microscopic and played a major role in blocking sunlight than the soot particles or sulfur aerosols.

"The duration of darkness is really important, because if, in fact, photosynthesis was shut down, and that drove extinctions, it has to be dark for a fairly substantial length of time," David Kring, a planetary scientist who was not involved in the study, told the Washington Post.

However, scientist Kring highlighted that a single cause cannot be attributed as the reason for extinction of dinosaurs.

"Each of those environmental consequences affected different parts of the world and lasted for different amounts of time. So one of the things that we understand in general, and not yet in detail, is that it’s really this potpourri of environmental effects that led to the extinctions. There’s no single silver bullet," explained Kring.

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