yewknee.com

Asteroid Wipeout

Apparently there was some debate over what really killed the dinosaurs so a panel of 41 international scientists got together and have decided that it was a monumental asteroid impact that did the deed.

The dinosaurs, which had ruled for 160 million years, were wiped out in a matter of days. Large marine reptiles, like the mosasaurs and the plesiosaurs, the flying reptiles known as pterosaurs, giant snail-like ammonites and many species of marine plankton, were also were also obliterated. Bird species also suffered losses but survived.

I'm actually sort of surprised to hear this is still being debated as I'd never really heard anything different - volcanic activity or climate change theories were always just an addendum to the meteor theory. I've no idea why scientists felt the need to really lay this issue to rest or how they feel that their conclusion is more definitive now than it was before but the article is an interesting read and describes a chaos beyond what even Rolland Emmerich could envision.

Via Kate.