Death of the Dinosaurs - K-Pg Boundary and Deccan Traps

The large-scale geological event known as the End-Cretaceous Mass Extinction had a profound influence on life on our planet. Three-quarters of all life on Earth perished during this time, from marine invertebrates like the ammonites, to the large avian and marine reptiles which had held their dominant place for so long, and of course the dinosaurs. In a geological instant, hundreds of non-avian dinosaur species, the product of more than 175,000,000 years of evolution, completely disappeared from the Earth.

The cause of this mass extinction event is an ongoing and often contentious debate in the scientific community. Did the extinction happen rapidly or was it the product of a long period of change in climate? Or perhaps the culmination of both factors?

As pictured above, this item includes the physical evidence behind the two leading theories for the death of the dinosaurs: the Chicxulub Asteroid Impact and the flood basalts of the Indian Subcontinent known as the Deccan Traps.

The Deccan Traps is one of the largest volcanic features on earth. Stretching across the Indian Subcontinent, the remnants of these powerful flood basalts reach depths of more than 1.2 miles (2,000m). The eruption of the Deccan Traps came in relatively fast pulses just before the recognized boundary between the Cretaceous and Paleogene Periods (c. 66.8 million years ago). Sulphur-dioxide released by this eruption is thought to have cooled the planet by as much as 2°C (3.6°F), a data point which is reflected in the study of extinction rates in many smaller forms of life including foraminifera as well as larger species like the dinosaurs. The specimen in Age of Dinosaurs is a mixture of the portions of three distinct phases of the main eruption donated by Professor Gerta Keller of Princeton University. We are very grateful for Dr. Keller’s kind donation of this material which underlies a lifetime of work on this fascinating subject.

By contrast, the Chicxulub Asteroid Impact (c. 66 million years ago) provides a dramatic exclamation point to the end of the Mesozoic. At a minimum, the Chicxulub impactor was 6 miles (9.6km) in diameter, and the energy released likely exceeded more than 100 million megatons. Evidence of massive fires and mega-tsunamis traced to this event have been found in many areas of the world, as well as a fine layer of the element Iridium which is known today as the K-Pg Boundary Layer. The discovery of this global layer and the eventual hypothesis is credited to Nobel Laureate Dr. Luis Alvarez and his son Dr. Walter Alvarez. The specimen in the Mini Museum is a mixture of the K-Pg Boundary Layer samples taken from across North America and Europe.

The specimens are housed in an acrylic jar that is encased within a glass-topped riker display box. The box measures 4 1/2" x 3 1/2". A small information card is also included, which serves as the certificate of authenticity.

Please Note: The distribution of the material in each specimen will be unique. Product images are representative samples. The approximate size for each specimen is 2 cm wide by 1 cm tall (e.g. twice the size of the specimen in Age of Dinosaurs).