We’ve all been told the story of what wiped out the dinosaurs – a giant meteor careers down from the sky, crashes into Earth and bang! The rest is history. But what if that wasn’t the whole story? A new study suggests there may have been more to it than just an asteroid – and it involves climate change. A chain of huge volcanic eruptions which eventually cooled the planet an alarming amount may have been partially to blame, according to research. The study, published in Science Advances and co-authored by Don Baker, a professor in McGill University's Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, suggests that this might be the case. The researchers looked into volcanic eruptions at the Deccan Traps, a huge, rugged plateau that formed when molten lava solidified and turned to rock. The plateau dates back to around 66-65m years ago, when magma from deep inside Earth erupted to the surface. That just so happens to be around the time when scientists think the dinosaurs met their demise. Baker’s team suggest that the eruptions produced a staggering 1m cubic kilometres of lava, which then turned into rock, which may have played a key role in cooling the global climate around 65m years ago. The scientists say it’s all to do with how much sulphur and fluorine was pumped into the atmosphere as a result of the eruptions. Incredibly, they found the event could have sparked a drop in temperature all around the world, dubbed a “volcanic winter”. Baker said: “Our research demonstrates that climatic conditions were almost certainly unstable, with repeated volcanic winters that could have lasted decades, prior to the extinction of the dinosaurs. “This instability would have made life difficult for all plants and animals and set the stage for the dinosaur extinction event. “Thus our work helps explain this significant extinction event that led to the rise of mammals and the evolution of our species.” The scientists worked it out using new chemical techniques developed at McGill to measure how much sulphur is in the rock formations which came about at the time, then from that, figuring out how much went into the atmosphere. The paper is titled “Recurring volcanic winters during the latest Cretaceous: Sulfur and fluorine budgets of Deccan Traps lavas.” How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A day before the disappearance of the doomed Titan submersible, a British businessman and explorer wrote of his pride to be "going down to the Titanic" as a mission specialist.

Cheyenne Knight and Elizabeth Szokol teamed up for an eight-under par 62 in the foursomes third round of the Great Lakes Bay Invitational on Friday, taking a three-shot...

Andrew Tate asked his followers, 'I'd be depressed if I was a f**king nerd so how would I stop myself being a nerd?'

OTTAWA, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 15, 2023--

On the day the OceanGate Expeditions’ Titan submersible descended into the ocean, Abbi Jackson was working on its mothership Polar Prince

By Deisy Buitrago and Vivian Sequera CARACAS (Reuters) -Iran and Venezuela want to increase bilateral trade to $20 billion, up

Two New York boys reported missing last week have been found dead in different rivers in Manhattan, police say.

Alix Earle, known for her get-ready-with-me style videos, disclosed a unique solution for mending her fractured tooth, using only nail glue

Four teams have a bye in Week 5 of the 2023 NFL season.

The Utah influencer's malnourished son escaped to a neighbour's home to seek help, police say.

The fresh search for Madeleine McCann has entered its second day as divers probe the Barragem do Arade reservoir in Portugal which suspect Christian Brueckner used to visit. Investigators believe the 45-year-old killed Madeleine, then aged three, after abducting her from a holiday apartment. The reservoir is around 31 miles from Praia da Luz where Madeleine went missing in 2007. While divers scoured the water, police were seen digging besides the reservoir on Monday afternoon. A Policia Judiciaria statement on Monday said it is co-ordinating searches in the Algarve at the request of German police and in the presence of British officers. The development comes just 10 days after Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, issued a tribute on their Leicestershire-born daughter’s 20th birthday, telling her: “We love you and we’re waiting for you. We’re never going to give up.” British police are due to travel to Portugal to observe the new search, with Scotland Yard liaison officers expected to keep the McCanns informed of any developments. Read More Madeleine McCann case: Timeline of the missing child’s disappearance How much has the Madeleine McCann investigation cost? Who is Christian Brueckner? Madeleine McCann suspect and the accusations against him