Chap 13 Dinosaurs

The causes of D’s disapp remains a mystery.

Clm change theory: D bec extinct b/c the plant’s clm changed, over M of yrs: the W
gradually bc cooler.
2day: clm= getting hotter rather than colder.
Some sc speculate: the time of D; The W changed & bcame cooler. the plnts 2 disapp
a severe shortage of food 4 the D
D:= vegetarian, depended on 4 their food supp= disapp
dispp of the D = a change in clm: changed the type of plnt availb 4 food.
Many sc blieve gradual clmate chang best expl why D disap.
Many other sc speculate that D disap quickly, suddenly.
+ Asteroid impact theo
A huge ast, hit the E.  huge cloud of dust.The enorm. dust cloud covered the whole E
& blocked out The S most plnts on E. died. ->D.'s supp disap, in a periods of months.
In the late 20th cen. Sc. found a large amount of iridium
Iridium in the same earth & rck layers (65 mil. yrs old) = many of the bones of the last D.
This ele, not common on E.
It exists deep w/ the E., but it's unsual to find I near the E’s surface.
How., there is a lot of iri in space. Sc. spec. that iri, arrived when a comet or asteroid hit
the E.
The ast. impact theo. explains 2 things:
1. the larg amounts of the rate elem I.
2. Why D disapp
2dy sc. cont 2 debate 2 theo. & others In the future, perh. they'll find out that D died out
disease.