Dinosaurs: Did volcanos play a part in their extinction?

Do you think volcanos wiped out the dinosaurs?

New research suggests that volcanos might have been a cause for the extinction of dinosaurs.

Until now the main theory most scientists have for how dinosaurs were wiped out is an asteroid hitting the Earth.

However, there is still debate about what actually caused dinosaurs to die out - and volcanos are another key theory.

Researchers in Dartmouth, in the USA, have been looking at how huge volcanic eruptions might have had an impact.

What is the asteroid theory?

Lots of scientists think the extinction was caused by a huge asteroid.

There's lots of proof for this - including a huge crater in Mexico known as the Chicxulub Crater.

This crater suggests a giant asteroid hit earth over 66 million years ago, which lines up with when scientists think dinosaurs, and other animals, became extinct.

What is the new research?

Lots of evidence of the crater is in the Gulf of Mexico, so scientists head to the sea for research!

The idea that volcanos caused the dinosaurs to become extinct isn't new, but scientists think they have found more evidence.

Researchers from Dartmouth, in the USA, think that as well as the asteroid, huge volcanic eruptions could have played a part in wiping out the dinosaurs.

They've found this by looking at certain types of rocks, including a special rock formation in India called the Deccan Plateau.

The Deccan Plateau shows off some amazing rock formations!

Rocks are a great way to look at the history of the Earth from really far back, as they have been around for millions of years!

The researchers looked at volcanic rocks, and there's a lot of evidence to prove these rocks were formed at a similar time to the extinction of dinosaurs.

What is volcanic rock?

Basalt rock makes incredible patterns, like the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland!

Volcanic rock is formed when volcanoes erupt, and magma comes out. The magma cools and turns into volcanic rock.

Geologists - people who study rocks - can look at these rocks and try to work out when they were formed.

In this study, they looked at rock formations called "basalt floods", which happen when lots of magma spills out and becomes solid.

They're very rare as they take huge volcanic eruptions to make them.

So what does this mean?

New evidence suggest volcanos may have erupted when dinosaurs went extinct

Scientists looked at the Deccan Plateau, which was formed by basalt floods.

It was caused by a giant eruption so big that it could have wiped out species.

By looking at when the rocks were formed, it lines up with when scientists think dinosaurs, and lots of other species, became extinct.

The Deccan Plateau is just one piece of the evidence, but scientists think it means that as well as a huge asteroid, volcanos may have played a part in wiping out the dinosaurs.