US, WASHINGTON (ORDO NEWS) — Geophysicists at the University of Connecticut concluded that the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction could have occurred on the planet due to a catastrophic lack of sunlight. This was reported by the Phys.org portal.
Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction occurred about 66 million years ago and led to the extinction of dinosaurs.
It is believed that this happened due to the fall of the asteroid Chicxulub on the Yucatan Peninsula, after which a hot cloud of molten solid rocks rose in the upper atmosphere. This triggered global forest fires.
Combustion products formed dust clouds that prevented sunlight from entering. Because of this, the average temperature on the planet has decreased by 26 degrees, scientists say.
Researchers have created a special model to assess how emissions of dust, soot, and sulfur have affected global climate change. It turned out that the cold was severe, but not enough to lead to mass extinction.
At the same time, clouds of emissions from fires could absorb most of the sunlight and completely stop photosynthesis for about a year. This deprived the dinosaurs of their food supply and violated the food chain, the study authors note.
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