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Artist's impression of the asteroid slamming into tropical, shallow seas of the sulfur-rich Yucatán Peninsula in what is today Southeast Mexico. [13] The aftermath of the asteroid collision, which occurred approximately 66 million years ago, is believed to have caused the mass extinction of non-avian dinosaurs and many other species on Earth. [13]
The Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) extinction event, [a] also known as the K–T extinction, [b] was the mass extinction of three-quarters of the plant and animal species on Earth [2] [3] approximately 66 million years ago. The event caused the extinction of all non-avian dinosaurs.
The Cretaceous–Paleogene ("K-Pg" or "K-T") extinction event around 66 million years ago wiped out all non-avian dinosaurs and many other species. Proposed by Luis and Walter Alvarez , it is now widely accepted that the extinction was caused by a huge asteroid or bolide that impacted Earth in the shallow seas of the Gulf of Mexico , leaving ...
Luis Walter Alvarez, left, and his son Walter, right, at the K–T Boundary in Gubbio, Italy, 1981. The Alvarez hypothesis posits that the mass extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs and many other living things during the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event was caused by the impact of a large asteroid on the Earth.
Researchers report that the Cretaceous Chicxulub asteroid impact that resulted in the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs 66 million years ago, also rapidly acidified the oceans producing ecological collapse and long-lasting effects on the climate, and was a key reason for end-Cretaceous mass extinction.
A large asteroid or comet could collide with the Earth's surface with the force of hundreds to thousands of times the force of all the nuclear bombs on the Earth. [4] For example, the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event has been proposed to have caused extinction of all non-avian dinosaurs 66 million years ago.
The asteroid that killed most dinosaurs 66 million years ago left behind traces of its own origin. Researchers think they know where the Chicxulub impactor came from based on levels of ruthenium.
T. rex and the Crater of Doom is a nonfiction book by UC Berkeley professor Walter Alvarez that was published by Princeton University Press in 1997. The book discusses the research and evidence that led to the creation of the Alvarez hypothesis, which explains how an impact event was the main cause that resulted in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event.