Traps Erupting, Pangaea Breaking, and a Conclusion
Deccan Traps Erupt
before the impact
flood basalts in modern-day India
up to 600,000 miles covered in lava
acid rain (SO2), ozone depletion, global cooling (SO2), global warming (CO2), etc.
Pangaea Breaking Up
many species already going extinct due to the breakup of the supercontinent
continents move apart → sea level rises
Conclusion
the Cretaceous biosphere was already stressed
the impact was the final nail in the coffin
this was also probably the causal factor in the extinction of the dinosaurs
Did the Dinosaurs Really Go Extinct?
biologically, birds are descendants of dinosaurs
example: the Cassowary bird the is bird that most closely resembles a dinosaur in today’s age
crocodiles and alligators are also thought to be descendants of the dinosaurs
the K/Pg extinction caused extinction of “non-avian” dinosaurs
How Concerned Should We Be?
there doesn’t have to be a “mass extinction” event to be bad
civilization killer → this is random and would probably only occur 1 in 1 million years
we might kill our civilization on our own
current extinction rate is 1000 times higher than the background rate
if all threatened species become extinct by 2100, we would be in a mass extinction event
within 240-540 years, magnitude would be comparable to past mass extinctions
Traps Erupting, Pangaea Breaking, and a Conclusion
Deccan Traps Erupt
before the impact
flood basalts in modern-day India
up to 600,000 miles covered in lava
acid rain (SO2), ozone depletion, global cooling (SO2), global warming (CO2), etc.
Pangaea Breaking Up
many species already going extinct due to the breakup of the supercontinent
continents move apart → sea level rises
Conclusion
the Cretaceous biosphere was already stressed
the impact was the final nail in the coffin
this was also probably the causal factor in the extinction of the dinosaurs
Did the Dinosaurs Really Go Extinct?
biologically, birds are descendants of dinosaurs
example: the Cassowary bird the is bird that most closely resembles a dinosaur in today’s age
crocodiles and alligators are also thought to be descendants of the dinosaurs
the K/Pg extinction caused extinction of “non-avian” dinosaurs
How Concerned Should We Be?
there doesn’t have to be a “mass extinction” event to be bad
civilization killer → this is random and would probably only occur 1 in 1 million years
we might kill our civilization on our own
current extinction rate is 1000 times higher than the background rate
if all threatened species become extinct by 2100, we would be in a mass extinction event
within 240-540 years, magnitude would be comparable to past mass extinctions