--> Abstract: A Whimper and a Bang-the Extinction of the Dinosaurs, by A. Woods; #91017 (1992).

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ABSTRACT: A Whimper and a Bang-the Extinction of the Dinosaurs

WOODS, ARNOLD, Conoco Inc., Casper, WY

The reason for the extinction of the dinosaurs has been debated since their discovery in the late 1800s. Hypotheses advanced for their demise have ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous. Most recently the debate has centered on two opposing hypotheses. One favors extinction through a catastrophic meteorite impact, causing a worldwide dust cloud, and the other hypothesis favors a more gradual effect caused by climatic and environmental changes.

Single-cause explanations, however, cannot reasonably account for all the physical and biological effects seen at the K/T boundary. Any suggestion regarding dinosaur extinction must also account for the nearly simultaneous loss of a variety of other organisms, and must also explain why some ecologically and/or biologically similar groups were not strongly affected.

The geological record, supported by paleontological and chemical analyses across the K/T boundary at various locations, indicates that multiple, simultaneous effects were likely responsible for the end-Cretaceous extinctions. A decline in the number of genera has been documented for dinosaurs and other groups that died out at the end of the Cretaceous. This decline was exacerbated by major effects such as meteorite impact(s) and volcanic eruptions. Localized effects such as habitat changes and weather modification caused additional stress for already affected groups. The fortuitous interaction of large- and small-scale factors that collectively brought about the extinction of the dinosaurs.

 

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91017©1992 AAPG Rocky Mountain Section Meeting, Casper, Wyoming, September 13-16, 1992 (2009)