Editing 2845: Extinction Mechanisms
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | + | {{incomplete|Created by an EXTREMELY WELL-AIMED SPACE ROCK - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | |
− | + | Around 66 million years ago there was a {{w|Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event|mass extinction event}} responsible for the extinction of all non-avian dinosaurs. There have been a number of explanations for this, but most currently accepted explanations revolve around the {{w|Chicxulub crater|Chicxulub impact}}, where a large asteroid (the comic suggests it was a comet) hit the earth. The exact mechanism for the extinction caused by this event, however, is not clear. The comic suggests three possibilities: impact winter caused by dust released from the impact, firestorms along with acidification of the oceans from acids generated by the impact, and the impact may have caused the {{w|Deccan Traps}} volcano in India to erupt more readily (this volcano is also sometimes associated with the mass extinction). Here all three possibilities have been crossed out and a fourth one: "the rocks hit the dinosaurs" is circled as the correct answer. | |
− | The title text refers to a hypothetical event early in Earth's history | + | The argument is that the comet has a volume of 500km3, or 5*10^14 L. Earth has a surface area of around 500 million km2, or 5*10^14 m2. The idea is that the comet broke up into liter sized rocks that was somehow evenly distributed over the Earth's surface, hitting each of the dinosaurs. It is unclear how such a breakup or even scattering may occur. |
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+ | The title text refers to a hypothetical event early in Earth's history ironically known as the Late Heavy Bombardment, where a number of asteroids struck the Earth and other terrestrial planets around 4 billion years ago. This mass extinction event is then referred to as the "Comparatively Light but Oddly Specific Bombardment", presumably because it isn't as heavy as the LHB, but oddly specific in its targets. | ||
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
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:[Four dinosaurs are drawn, including a theropod, what may be a velociraptor, a sauropod, and a triceratops. Each has a small rock falling directly toward it.] | :[Four dinosaurs are drawn, including a theropod, what may be a velociraptor, a sauropod, and a triceratops. Each has a small rock falling directly toward it.] | ||
− | : | + | :<u>Comet Extinction Mechanism Ideas</u> |
− | : | + | :<s>Dust caused impact winter</s> |
− | + | :<s>Firestorms and ocean acidification</s> | |
− | :Firestorms and ocean acidification | + | :<s>Triggered Deccan Traps magma</s> |
− | :Triggered Deccan Traps magma | + | :[The last suggestion is circled rather than struck through] |
− | :[The | ||
:The rocks hit the dinosaurs | :The rocks hit the dinosaurs | ||