Why Did Dinosaurs Become Extinct - Research Paper Example

Why Did Dinosaurs Become Extinct? In an attempt to understand why and how dinosaurs became extinct, it is first crucial to derive the meanings of these two concepts i.e. Extinction and dinosaurs. Extinction implies the extermination of any species or in other words the death of the last individual belonging to that specie which in turn means that the existence of that particular species on earth wouldn’t be apparent anymore. Dinosaurs are also one such specie which became extinct over a period of time, who are believed to be a set of animals being either herbivores or ever carnivores, also being ornithopods or even quadrupeds with extremely long tails or legs. Usually, their leg are stretched erect beneath their bodies however, the fossil record indicates that they have been found in many distinct forms over the period of time. They have been found in various locales distributed widely over the planet earth and vary from terrestrial to marine beings. Dinosaurs are believed to be extinct by the end of the Cretaceous period. In other words, these dinosaurs became extinct about 65 million years ago, though they have been found to be living on earth for about 165 million years ago (When did dinosaurs become extinct 2012). There have been many explanations for the extinction of the dinosaurs, for instance the asteroid impact, disease, volcanic eruptions etc, however, the most widely accepted theory is the climate change theory, and thus this paper aims at discussing all these reasons and theories in details to locate which explanation offers the most convincing account of what actually happened. Starting off with the Asteroid theory which is also one of the most popular theories floating in this context, it implies that the extinction owes much to the hitting of a comet or an asteroid about 65 million years ago. According to a few sources, the comet which hit the earth produced so much dust that the effect of the sunlight eliminated to an extraordinary extent. Thus, once the effect of this comet was further enhanced, the elimination of the sunlight became unbearable for the plants as well as the animals, dinosaurs being one of them, that they all died each and every single one of them, causing extinction. Thus, since the effect was too extreme to handle, survival rate was technically zero. According to the researchers, this asteroid was about 4-9 miles in length and evidence indicates that it hit the earth at the Yucatan Peninsula which is found at the Gulf of Mexico. Moreover, due to the huge size of the comet, the after effects were also quite massive, i.e. severe storms, huge forest fires etc hit mother earth and thus dinosaurs were nowhere to be seen following this event, and it is also said that it took about six months after the event for the sunlight to appear again. However, certain assumptions tend to negate this very theory, as the facts recovered by scientists indicate. For instance, the element or rather the chemical which leads towards the resistance for sunlight reducing photosynthesis or to cause other changes, is caused by the element Iridium which is found generally in meteors and causes these massive effects. Though the size of the meteor as indicated by the scientists was large enough to cause the destruction, but another shocking indication completely negates the proposition. Reason being that though one hand where all meteors contain Iridium, Comet doesn’t. Also the material found later on indicates that the material was either too high or too low to cause massive destruction, thus, this fact completely negates the destruction. Thus, while making logical connections and deriving conclusions, all facts have to be kept into mind and if any of these assumptions is ignored faulty propositions come up, thus propositions of this theory need to study this theory in detail. The second explanation which the scientists give to justify the extinction of the dinosaurs is the volcanic eruptions. Usually, whenever there is an eruption in the volcanoes, the results are often unbearable and too extreme to handle, depending on the intensity of the event that caused them, thus, chances are that these eruptions might have contributed towards the extinction of these species. As a general phenomenon, the eruptions of volcanoes result in the production of various gases, for instance the sulphuric acid, phosphoric acid, etc, which are too poisonous for any living being to breathe in. The quantity of these gases emanating from the eruptions is also unbearable as huge clouds are formed which makes it impossible for any living being to ignore the affects of the poisonous gases. Also, these clouds will also have an immense effect generally on the atmosphere which implies that it will affect the climate as well as the intensity of the sunlight, all these elements directly affecting the survival level of these species. Moreover, the molten content, so heated up to technically melt any form of existence, also takes over the surface of the earth making living impossible for the species (Welcome to dinosaur fact 2012). Thus, there is a dire possibility that all these factors would have contributed towards the extinction of the species, which is a fair account of the justifications offered in this regard. Heated, aggressive environment, with poisonous gases all over; these factors make living quite impossible, thus so didn’t the dinosaurs. Again, certain flaws can clearly be pointed out in this theory as it also fails to explain the causes in entirety. According to the evidence, the volcanic eruptions can only hit the earth, during that era, over certain locations, while the dinosaurs have taken up huge locales and were distributed very widely. In this case, thus blaming the eruptions for destructions won`t be fair, as evidence indicates clearly that the eruptions were not too intense so as to cause the massive destruction. Thus, though in one case where it can be assumed that the volcanic eruptions produces poisonous gases etc, but it still wouldn’t be sane to assume that not even a single one of all the dinosaurs survived out of these eruptions as this wasn’t one of the most effective global event which had hit the mother earth. Thus, in its true sense this theory is essentially and innately flawed to be believed to be true, which takes us to the study of other more credible theories. Another theory proposed in this regard justifying the extinction of the dinosaurs is also proposed to be the disease theory, implying that a disease hit all the individuals belonging to specie which causes their extinction. Though it seems to be quite a weak theory, but is still advocated by some of the scientists as well as the researchers (Dinosaurs Treks 2012). According to these researchers, the Cretaceous period marks the formation of many bridges across the land which marked their territories. Evidence indicates that eventually, the oceans started drying up making way for these dinosaurs to walk over the surface of these dried bridges that resulted in the aftermath of the dry climate. Thus, these dinosaurs now needed new habitat for survival as water and even food was a dire need for their existence, thus in this struggle they explored new lands where they encountered some of their long lost relatives from the same species. Thus, the common encounter of these different kinds of dinosaurs directly implied that they had carried different kinds of diseases along on their way, and thus, now there was a pool of many different kinds of diseases found at the same place. Though, as a general rule of genetics, certain diseases didn’t affect the dinosaurs as they were either immune to these diseases or these were masked somewhere in their genetic makeup, however the same dinosaurs weren’t immune to diseases which other dinosaurs carried along. However, in one case only the strong ones would survive, but it may be the case that the genetic makeup of the dinosaurs was such that none of them survived as disease hit all of them causing their extinction. This is the weakest of all the theories posed for this purpose, as there are innate flaws clearly apparent in the theory. Dinosaurs meet, or even mate, and certain diseases which were earlier masked comes up and destroys the entire species; for any logical person this doesn’t make sense and fails to give a very convincing account. Moreover, there is no scientific evidence to prove the facts, and thus merely relying on philosophical presumptions in this case doesn’t seem to be a great idea. Though the disease might have contributed in the extinction of a particular group or in that case a few groups, but an entire race can`t be vanished in this context. Thus, out of all the theories present this one lacks any kind of scientific evidence and thus massive support, thus more than anything this theory remains to be merely a show piece for explanations that doesn’t really have a role to play in the process. Another justification of the distinction of dinosaurs is believed to be rooted inside the global flood that has believed to hit mother earth during the era. The scientists have found out that the conditions which have been observed indicate that the sand had settled in this way as a result of the massive floods which first took the entire overflow of water along and eventually caused extinction when sand covered the entire earth by sand. Thus, some of the species already died after the flood came as it was as high as the mountains present there, and those who survived were then taken down by the sand which was in a huge intensity so as to dip the entire species inside causing extinction (The extinction of dinosaurs 2012). Also, those who believe in the biblical account also follow the same account as they believe that since the Bible clearly indicates an account of the massive flood during the era, thus, causing the extinction of all species present, thus for those who are religious scholars believe this theory to be true by virtue of blind faith. There is evidence supporting this theory in the context that the paleontologists have found the graveyards to be formed with water, and thus they imply that this is proof enough to believe that the global floods caused the extinction. However, other scientists conveniently negate this proposition justifying that the flood in no way can be as extreme to produce similar results, i.e. massive destruction all over the earth. The earth has been structured naturally in such a way that some of the areas would have conveniently survived the destruction, and thus there is no possibility, talking logically, that all the dinosaurs would have gone distinct. Though it is true that the floods would have caused massive destruction but the marine species would still have survived, being proof enough for the fact that massive global floods aren’t reasons enough to prove the extinction of the dinosaurs. The most justifiable yet convincing account of the explanations regarding the extinction of dinosaurs is posed by the climatic changes which must have taken place during the era. The climate marked during the period was tropical in nature as suggested by the evidence present. This is apparent by the plants which were found for that era which were all tropical in nature (Archibald 1996). However, high chances are that the temperature eventually dropped and that too at a miserably high rate, causing a sudden change in the climatic conditions of the world. In such a case, it would be quite sane and logical to assume that is those conditions all plants would have died, and thus, the plant eaters wouldn’t be able to survive either without food, thus they would eventually die as well. Also, this would disturb the entire cycle of existence, as if the plant eaters would die, it is apparent that the meat eaters wouldn’t even be left with anything to survive on. This also means that the plankton would also have died in the struggle and thus, and this would be a reason to believe and thus, justify the death of the marine dinosaurs as well, thus this theory is proof enough and justifiable enough to contribute towards the explanations for why the dinosaurs became extinct. The climate change theory has the most logical explanations and most of the evidence and data available strengthens the claims of this theory suggesting it to be true. According to the calculations of these accounts by the scientists, the earth was going through massive changes during this time since the layers of the earth were moving, which naturally and directly effects the climate of the earth. Thus, by late Cretaceous era the temperature of the earth caused by earth movements would be dropped by 10 degrees Centigrade, which kept on dropping to immense rate with time. Though, it is suggested that those who lived in the tropical areas survived to a large extent as the temperature drop was less extreme, however, as the temperature kept dropping, even these tropical trees weren’t able to resist the effects of the weather change, and thus as the trees died, so did the plant eaters and eventually the meat eaters, and thus the cycle was initiated which turned into a massive disaster and caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. Thus, the scientific and logical evidence best supports the evidence for this theory, as it indicates gradual yet apparent and inevitable death of the entire species of dinosaurs. Thus conclusively, though there are many accounts, theories and explanations given to explain the extinction of the dinosaurs, but the climatic change theory seems to make most sense as logically as well as scientifically speaking; only this explanation has the capability to convince how an entire race of specie vanished and became unknown to any form of existence. On the other hand, all other theories seem to be clearly flawed. For instance, if the earth was hit by meteor, the content of Iridium clearly denies the case. Similarly, volcanic eruptions also lack clear evidence, and there is no chance that owing to the eruptions not even a single species survived. Similarly, disease is the weakest of all explanations as there is no biological or even scientific evidence to prove that. Global flood also lacks support as even that can`t cause such a massive event as distinction. On the other hand, the climatic change has happened over the centuries, and there is a clear proof of how the tropical plants had died, proving that there was an apparent change in the climate. Thus, for any researcher to come up with logical conclusions, the focus on details is a must, and owing to these insights, the paper was an attempt to offer the most effective explanations for the account. Works Cited Archibald, J. D. (1996). Dinosaur extinction and the end of an era: What the fossils say. New York: Columbia University eBook. "Welcome to Dinosaur Fact." Dinosaurs. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 July 2012. . "Did Dinosaurs Gas Themselves to Extinction?" Did Dinosaurs Gas Themselves to Extinction? N.p., n.d. Web. 01 July 2012. http://www.icr.org/article/6884/ PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 01 July 2012. . "When Did Dinosaurs Become Extinct?" When Did Dinosaurs Become Extinct? N.p., n.d. Web. 01 July 2012. . Dinosaur Treks." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation, n.d. Web. 01 July 2012. http://library.thinkquest.org/C005824/extinction.html "The Extinction of the Dinosaurs." - Answers in Genesis. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 July 2012. . Read More