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Study: Dinosaurs Were Roasted to Death After Chicxulub Impact

Was the true killer a deadly heat blast or a prolonged sunless winter?

JUL 29·Updated JUL 31

Study: Dinosaurs Were Roasted to Death After Chicxulub Impact

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Above: An illustration of an asteroid or comet striking the surface of the Earth, created on July 19, 2015. Image credit: Tobias Roetsch/Future Publishing/Getty Images

The Spin

Narrative A

Purdue scientists now suggest the dinosaurs weren't doomed by years of cold, sunless winter, but by something far more instant and merciless. Vaporized rock and falling debris trapped heat like a lid, unleashing a firestorm so intense it delivered 17 times the dose lethal to humans. In barely an hour, Earth's surface was likely scorched, sealing the fate of nearly everything caught in the open.

New Scientist

Brian Roemmele on X

Narrative B

When the asteroid struck, the true killer wasn't the fireball, but the darkness that followed. Dust and sulfur wrapped the entire sky, blotting out the sun for years and dragging temperatures down with it. Without light, plants withered, then the creatures that ate them, then those that hunted those. It was this long, cold, sunless winter that quietly ended nearly three-quarters of all life on Earth.

Nature

Anish Moonka on X