Asteroid impact, not volcanism, caused the end-Cretaceous dinosaur extinction

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Significance

We present a quantitative test of end-Cretaceous extinction scenarios and how these would have affected dinosaur habitats. Combining climate and ecological modeling tools, we demonstrate a substantial detrimental effect on dinosaur habitats caused by an impact winter scenario triggered by the Chicxulub asteroid. We were not able to obtain such an extinction state with several modeling scenarios of Deccan volcanism. We further show that the concomitant prolonged eruption of the Deccan traps might have acted as an ameliorating agent, buffering the negative effects on climate and global ecosystems that the asteroid impact produced at the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary.

Abstract

The Cretaceous/Paleogene mass extinction, 66 Ma, included the demise of non-avian dinosaurs. Intense debate has focused on the relative roles of Deccan volcanism and the Chicxulub asteroid impact as kill mechanisms for this event. Here, we combine fossil-occurrence data with paleoclimate and habitat suitability models to evaluate dinosaur habitability in the wake of various asteroid impact and Deccan volcanism scenarios. Asteroid impact models generate a prolonged cold winter that suppresses potential global dinosaur habitats. Conversely, long-term forcing from Deccan volcanism (carbon dioxide [CO ₂]-induced warming) leads to increased habitat suitability. Short-term (aerosol cooling) volcanism still allows equatorial habitability. These results support the asteroid impact as the main driver of the non-avian dinosaur extinction. By contrast, induced warming from volcanism mitigated the most extreme effects of asteroid impact, potentially reducing the extinction severity.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A

Journal ID (hwp): pnas

Journal ID (pmc): pnas

Journal ID (publisher-id): PNAS

Title: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Publisher: National Academy of Sciences

ISSN (Print): 0027-8424

ISSN (Electronic): 1091-6490

Publication date (Print): 21 July 2020

Publication date (Electronic): 29 June 2020

Publication date PMC-release: 29 June 2020

Volume: 117

Issue: 29

Pages: 17084-17093

Affiliations

[1] ^aDepartment of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London , South Kensington, SW7 2AZ London, United Kingdom;

[4] ^bDepartment of Earth Sciences, University College London , WC1E 6BT London, United Kingdom;

[3] ^cSchool of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol , BS8 1TH Bristol, United Kingdom

Author notes

²To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: a.chiarenza15@ 123456gmail.com .

Edited by Nils Chr. Stenseth, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway, and approved May 21, 2020 (received for review April 1, 2020)

Author contributions: A.A.C., A.F., P.D.M., J.V.M., and P.A.A. designed research; A.A.C., A.F., and P.D.M. performed research; D.J.L. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; A.A.C., A.F., and P.J.V. analyzed data; D.J.L., P.J.V., and J.V.M. contributed to experimental design of the GCMs; A.A.C., A.F., and P.D.M. wrote the paper; and D.J.L., P.J.V., J.V.M., and P.A.A. contributed to writing the paper.

¹A.A.C. and A.F. contributed equally to this work.