Volcano triggered by asteroid impact may have contributed to dinosaur extinction

Washington Post : One explanation for the extinction of the dinosaurs has been the catastrophic effects of a giant asteroid impact, evidenced by the Chicxulub crater on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. However, some scientists have proposed instead the massive volcanism occurring in India around the same time. According to a recent study published in Science, both theories may be true. Paul Renne of the University of California, Berkeley, and his colleagues say the asteroid impact could have triggered earthquakes all over the world, which would have led to extensive fracturing of Earth’s crust. That in turn could have boosted the rate of lava flows in India’s Deccan Traps and released more disruptive gases and ash into the atmosphere. Such atmospheric pollutants would have had severe effects on Earth’s climate and could have led to the demise of many species.