Dinosaur sensation. The great winter helped them

Until now, volcanic activity was considered one of the culprits of global extinction, which not only significantly warmed the climate, but also separated the supercontinent Pangea. It is this event that separates the Triassic period from the Jurassic period, which is more often associated thanks to pop culture, and was dominated by dinosaurs. However, new research indicates that it was cold, not heat, that helped them eliminate the remaining rivals for world domination.

Volcanoes cooled the climate

Analyzes just conducted, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, cited by Science Daily, indicate that the first period of lava flooding the world was much shorter at that time than previously thought. At the same time, the sulfate particles released into the air cooled the planet, sometimes even freezing its inhabitants. Of course, this does not rule out further volcanic eruptions and rising temperatures – carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in the Late Triassic was three times higher than today! But as researchers point out in the latest analyses, the earlier period of cold was crucial for the extinction, and the subsequent warming rather put an end to the i.

As Science Daily adds, the Triassic-Jurassic extinction has long been thought to be related to the eruption of the so-called Mid-Atlantic Igneous Province. For this purpose, researchers used radioactive isotopes, which estimated the age of the tested samples at approximately 201,564,000 years ago.. Moreover, scientists showed that the period of explosions was supposed to last about 100 years. This may have been sufficient to release the mentioned sulfates.

Unlike carbon dioxide, which persists for centuries (which is why its emission by humans is now so dangerous to the climate), sulfate molecules tend to fall from the atmosphere within a few years, hence the cooling is not long. However, the size and large number of explosions could have resulted in a high intensity of cold. Smaller animals, such as early dinosaurs and mammals, managed to survive because they could hide more easily in burrows that provided warmth.