Timeline of Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event research
The Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event was a very big extinction event that happened around 66 million years ago. This event wiped out over 75% of all the species on Earth. Scientists have been studying what caused this extinction event ever since it happened.
The first people who studied it were scientists back in the 1800s. They identified rocks, such as the K-T boundary, that showed something big had happened around that time, but they didn't know what it was.
In the early 1900s, scientists began to better understand dinosaurs and the fossil record. They noticed that certain kinds of dinosaurs disappeared at the same time this event in the fossil record had happened. This began to suggest that something killed off the dinosaurs.
In the mid-1900s, scientists noticed that there were unusual volcanic deposits in the K-T boundary. They suggested that the volcanoes might have caused the extinction event.
In the late 1900s, scientists found a crater in Mexico that was the exact size and shape of what they thought had been caused by the extinction event. This crater was eventually named the Chicxulub crater.
Today, scientists think that the Chicxulub crater was made when a big asteroid or comet slammed into the Earth around 66 million years ago. The asteroid caused massive global destruction - including the extinction of the dinosaurs - and the dust and debris it kicked up caused a global winter.
So, in summary, the timeline of research into the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event is as follows: In the 1800s scientists noticed unusual rocks, in the early 1900s they realized that dinosaurs had gone extinct at the exact same time, in the mid-1900s they noticed volcanic deposits around the K-T boundary, and in the late 1900s they found the Chicxulub crater.
The first people who studied it were scientists back in the 1800s. They identified rocks, such as the K-T boundary, that showed something big had happened around that time, but they didn't know what it was.
In the early 1900s, scientists began to better understand dinosaurs and the fossil record. They noticed that certain kinds of dinosaurs disappeared at the same time this event in the fossil record had happened. This began to suggest that something killed off the dinosaurs.
In the mid-1900s, scientists noticed that there were unusual volcanic deposits in the K-T boundary. They suggested that the volcanoes might have caused the extinction event.
In the late 1900s, scientists found a crater in Mexico that was the exact size and shape of what they thought had been caused by the extinction event. This crater was eventually named the Chicxulub crater.
Today, scientists think that the Chicxulub crater was made when a big asteroid or comet slammed into the Earth around 66 million years ago. The asteroid caused massive global destruction - including the extinction of the dinosaurs - and the dust and debris it kicked up caused a global winter.
So, in summary, the timeline of research into the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event is as follows: In the 1800s scientists noticed unusual rocks, in the early 1900s they realized that dinosaurs had gone extinct at the exact same time, in the mid-1900s they noticed volcanic deposits around the K-T boundary, and in the late 1900s they found the Chicxulub crater.