What killed The Dinosaurs?

Question

What killed the dinosaurs?..and how...include evidence.

Answer 1

The meteorite that struck the earth long ago kicked up tons of matter into the atmosphere which caused less light to reach the surface of the earth which caused many forms of life, plant and animal, to quickly and slowly die off. Evidence was based upon fossil record and geological (rocks) evidence. Then, recently, a "for sure" chemical analysis came back ( in 2002-2003) and was re-verified with even newer, more definite chemical evidence just last year that ends the "theory" and changes the meteorite hypothesis to fact. To understand how the evidence is objective fact requires high school level chemistry, algebra, statistics, physics, environmental sciences, biology and geology formal or self education.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/science/11/21/antarctica.meteor.ap/

Answer 2

It is one of the greatest puzzles in paleontology.

For more than 150 million years, dinosaurs dominated Earth. They were so successful that other animal groups -- mammals included -- had little chance of playing anything more than secondary roles.

Then, 65 million years ago, the dinosaurs vanished from the world forever.

Did they meet a quick and catastrophic end, or did they fade away gradually?


What happened 65 million years ago?

In the search for answers to what killed the dinosaurs, scientists have looked beyond fossils. Geological evidence also holds clues and has contributed to many hypotheses, working explanations of how dinosaurs may have become extinct.

The extinction mystery is far from a simple "whodunit." The same piece of evidence is sometimes subject to multiple interpretations. And, as yet, there is no obvious "smoking gun," no piece of evidence that strongly supports only one hypothesis while disproving all others.

So what do we know about dinosaur extinction, and how do we know it?


Evidence
Scientific evidence and observation are the building blocks of hypotheses. Initially, the same evidence and observations may support different hypotheses. As more evidence becomes available, some hypotheses are substantiated, others are disproved, and new ones are formed.

Hypothesis
A dinosaur extinction hypothesis is a testable statement describing factors that may have contributed to the dinosaurs' demise and how long the process may have taken. Evidence, observation, and experimentation can serve to support or disprove a hypothesis. Regardless of its ultimate acceptance or rejection, though, a valid hypothesis provides direction for future scientific inquiry.

Answer 3

More to the story than most elaborate on.
The biggest change for the atmosphere was high ionosphere differences. These differences allowed a change in the Earth's atmosphere, and I'm sure it impacted its magnetic poles.

The resounding blast may have also made the Earth more volcanically active, in a sense, preparing it for what it needed to be prepared for. The blast probably sent a shot into the Earth about 1 kilometer deep. Not only would radius be high, ejecta following the immediate blast would most likely also disintigrate into the air as a cloud of thick particles in which the Sun could never hope to penetrate. No light for the plants meant no life for them, except fungus' who thrived on musty and dark places.

You are not looking for what killed humans though. The fact is, it is hard to give evidence to this, but when you think about it... What else could it have been, a virus?

Answer 4

Hi,
From what I was taught, a huge asteriod hit the Earth which caused a blackout of the sun for 5 years which killed all living creatures (except fish and a few others) including the dinosaurs. Without that asteroid, dinos would still be around today! :P
If what I said was incorrect, I went to a state school. lol

Answer 5

Dinosaurs as a group were in serious decline long before they became extinct. The Alvares' came up with the asteroid theory based on measurements of Irridium in deposits around that time, but I think it is now being questioned.

Answer 6

Dinosaurs never existed. The so called "fossils" are a trick played by Satan to keep people from believing the Earth was created 6,000 years ago by God.

JUST KIDDING. See how crazy that sounds? Why on earth would anyone believe this crap?

Answer 7

It is widely claimed that they died out after an object from space hit in the Gulf of Mexico area about 65 MYA. But that leaves too many questions. Me and my buddy Bob Bakker don't go for that though. We think that it was probably a combination of things.
A long decline because of climate change, possiblly diseases, and the asteroid didn't help any. Another widely held theory is that Raquel Welch (In that wonderful fur bikini) and her tribe were responsible.

Answer 8

I think that there have only been theories so far, no solid evidence. The most favoured theory is that a meteor hit the earth and caused either suffocation, starvation or sudden rise in temperature. That might not be right though, just my tired hazy brain can't quite remember!

Answer 9

The Yorkshire Ripper

Answer 10

They think a meteor fell and killed the dinosaurs