Plate Tectonics: The Demise Of Dinosaurs

“A minority disputes this theory, arguing that other events-such as volcanic eruptions, sea-level changes or a series of impacts-were to blame for the spectacular loss of species that occurred at the transition between the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods…”

Stephen Gould’s essay “Sex, Drugs, Disasters, and the Extinction of the Dinosaurs” completely agrees with Joseph Williams and Gregory Colomb’s essay “Argument, Critical Thinking, and Rationality.” Gould’s essay deals with three theories for the extinction of the dinosaurs, two of which he argues are entirely invalid because they are not in accordance with the basic rules of argument laid out by Williams and Colomb in their essay. Gould also states that the third theory of dinosaur extinction, natural disaster, follows all the rules that Williams and Colomb espouse, and thus is a sound argument. Gould, Williams, and Colomb all state that the world has a problem with irrational arguments being shoved down people’s throats, and call for a

The asteroid impact extinction theory began in 1980 with Luis and Walter Alvarez, a father and son team. They theorized that an asteroid struck the Earth at the close of the Cretaceous period, causing devastating effects and mass

He narrowed his hunt down to a location in Denmark, where he had sent a colleague to perform an iridium analysis test at ("Asteroids and Dinosaurs: Unexpected Twists and an Unfinished Story," n.d.). When the results came back, Alvarez knew that whatever happened had not been a small-scale disaster. Once again, Alvarez was back to asking questions. What caused the increased iridium levels at the KT boundary? Except this time, he realized that his observations supported the ten year old hypothesis that had been proposed by paleontologist Dale Russell and physicist Wallace Tucker ("Asteroids and Dinosaurs: Unexpected Twists and an Unfinished Story," n.d.). They brought up the possibility of a supernova being the cause of dinosaur extinction. Supernovas are known to release high amounts of iridium, so such a hypothesis fit perfectly with Alvarez’s team’s discovery. However, the hope of having found a conclusion was short-lived. Luis Alvarez had mentioned that if said supernova had occurred that it would have released amounts of plutonium which would have been found alongside the iridium; no plutonium was found at either site. After more digging, the team came up with a new hypothesis ("Asteroids and Dinosaurs: Unexpected Twists and an Unfinished Story," n.d.). Perhaps an asteroid had struck Earth towards the end of the Cretaceous period, blowing enough dust into the atmosphere to

Dinosaurs ruled the earth for over 65 million years and thankfully for the human race, they became extinct. Ultimately, only a major catastrophe could completely wipe out an entire species, let alone an entity of dinosaurs and the debacle on the causes of dinosaur extinction have flooded the minds of paleontologists for centuries. Geologist and zoologist Stephen Jay Gould published “Sex, Drugs, Disasters, and the Extinction of Dinosaurs,” to compare scientific and speculative causes of dinosaur decimation. Personally, I found this passage very informational and enjoyed reading it. Gould provides three theories that capture the reader’s curiosity, allowing room for pondering in one’s mind.

In Stephen Jay Gould’s “Sex, Drugs, Disasters, and the Extinction of Dinosaurs”, Gould investigates three possible theories hypothesizing the reason behind the extinction of dinosaurs. The first theory suggests that dinosaurs became extinct due to a rise in temperature, which caused sperm to die, leading to the sterilization of male dinosaurs. The second hypothesis offer that many dinosaurs consumed bitter plants that contained psychoactive agents which their lives could not detoxify out of their systems. The last speculation about the dinosaur’s extinction is that a large cloud of dust formed in the atmosphere after an asteroid hit Earth’s surface. This dust cloud blocked out the sunlight, causing temperatures to drop and made photosynthesis impossible. Gould uses these three theories to lead to his central claim that science isn’t just about making fascinating claims, but should have a well developed hypothesis.

who theorize that volcanic eruptions could have been the cause for the extinction of dinosaurs

After Listening to the short story about what was a KT Boundary and the cause of the extinction of the Dinosaur, I learn so much about it. I was so exited because when I was in five grade, I only learn that the dinosaurs die because a meteor hit Earth and all of the dinosaur died. In reality they didn't die in one day in fact, they die because of many interesting reason.Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss about what is a KtT boundary. I learn that a Kt Boundary is break down in two parts, K stands for the Cretaceous period and the T stands for the Tertiary period.A K-T Boundary in Italy is a Thin land of gray and is one centimeter thick and in central america it stretches about three centimeters but they are both a thin straight line.

Mass extinction of the Dinosaurs the most dramatic extinction in the history of the Earth. ( national geographic, 2015 ) The dinosaur extinction could have been sudden or gradual depending on the cause. Scientists have thoroughly researched and finally found two major options, the asteroid impact theory and the volcanic theory, that have many similar qualities, but on the other hand are very different. These two theories could have possibly caused the extinction many years ago.

There were over 1,000 different species of dinosaurs (“Dinosaurs”) that lived and evolved for almost 185 million years (“Dinosaur Facts”). Dinosaurs were some of the largest and most mysterious creatures to walk the Earth. Dinosaurs have helped scientists to understand the Earth and it 's past by studying different types, how they lived, their characteristics and what caused their mass extinction.

After the extinction of dinosaurs, intelligent scientists have come together to study the devastating event. The debate surrounding the death of the dinosaurs has intensified due to many recent theories. Some people believed that an extremely devastating ice age froze the dinosaurs across the world and brought massive extinction. Others believe that a volcanic eruption occurred due to climate change and natural disasters, while some say aliens abducted the dinosaurs. None of these theories seem proven to be accurate and in alignment with historical events. Now many experts and paleontologists are concluding that dinosaurs were killed by a massive rocky body asteroid. Although many people believe an ice age

Dinosaur extinction: An analysis of events and theories that possibly led to the dinosaurs' demise.

These techniques led to the discovery of the boundary between the two eras. A single thin layer of clay found within predominantly limestone rocks established this. By comparing the marine life found in, above, and below the clay, the marine life, like the dinosaurs, had been terribly affected by the extinction event. The percentage of life in the upper layers was dramatically lower than that in the lower. This was far more compelling than what was suggested by dinosaur’s fossils.

Dinosaurs: How they became something extinction occurred 65 million years ago, in the late Cretaceous period, something very terrible that it changed the course of life on Earth. It seems like it happened so suddenly, like geological time away, but almost all the dinosaurs lived on Earth disappeared. So how dominant creatures just die? It has to be a slow extinction, or it happened all of the sudden? These questions bring arouse many different beliefs about how dinosaurs disappeared 65 million years ago. Extinction itself is easy to determine: When birth rates do not keep pace with mortality, it is called extinction. However, the definition does not answer the question about the nature or cause of the extinction.The second type of extinction is known as mass extinctions. There are four main components to participate: A large number of extinct species; variety of species extinction; the work must be global; and effects must occur within a short period of geologic time.1

Rapid climate change also ends up on the suspect list of possible dinosaur extinction events. During the latter part of the Cretaceous Period continents broke up causing volcanoes to erupt and fill the sky with gas and ash resulting in a drastic climate change (“Dinosaurs Climate Change and Biodiversity”). The shifting of continents changed the Earth’s landscape, altering weather patterns and overall climate (“Dinosaur Extinction Theories”). Also, over a long period of time, climate gradually changed. Ocean habits changed, temperatures grew much more extreme causing scorching summers and frigid winters (Norell, Dingus, and Gaffney). Radical temperature changes like these led to a green-house effect, making life for the dinosaurs a lot