Is the evolution of dinosaurs fueled by ice and not fire? Here's the truth

A new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has made startling revelations that put into question everything we know about the evolution of dinosaurs on Earth.


Some 201.6 million years ago, Earth underwent its second mass extinction , marked not only by the death of 75% of Earth’s species but also by the splitting of the supercontinent Pangea. Such significant land displacement resulted from massive volcanic eruptions . These eruptions released vast amounts of lava over 600,000 years, marking the end of the Triassic period and creating conditions that allowed dinosaurs to thrive in the subsequent Jurassic period .


The extinction of species that followed is attributed to a prolonged warming period caused by high carbon dioxide levels from these eruptions. However, the new study claims that the immediate effect of the eruptions was cooling rather than warming. According to the study, the eruptions occurred rapidly and released sulfur-rich particles that dramatically cooled Earth.



While carbon dioxide eventually increased in the atmosphere, leading to global warming, the study suggests that it was the initial cooling that led to the widespread extinction of species. Dennis Kent, lead author and researcher at Columbia's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, highlights the differences between sulfates and carbon dioxide. He explains that while carbon dioxide gradually warms the environment, sulfates have an immediate impact.


The sulfates blocked sunlight and caused severe cooling. Sulfate aerosols settled more quickly than carbon dioxide, resulting in an intense but brief cooling period. These volcanic winters wreaked havoc on ecosystems, far exceeding the impact of the 1783 eruption of Iceland's Laki volcano, which led to significant crop failures. The sulfates released 201.6 million years ago were far greater in intensity than could be imagined.



In 2013, Kent and his team found evidence of simultaneous volcanic eruptions across extensive regions. By analyzing the timeline of volcanic rocks in the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) from Morocco, the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, and New Jersey's Newark Basin, they established a connection between these eruptions and the mass extinctions that occurred during that period.