Got into a real argument about the Chicxulub crater at a field camp in Arizona

We were mapping near the Kaibab Formation and my friend Mike insisted the impact winter was the main dinosaur killer, but I think the Deccan Traps volcanism did more damage over time. He pointed to the global iridium layer, I brought up the longer climate shifts from the lava flows. Anyone have a strong take on which event was actually worse for life back then?

3 comments

3 Comments

diana_park1mo ago

The Deccan Traps released enough sulfur to cause repeated acid rains though - did Mike ever factor in how that stacked against the single impact winter pulse?

wilson.jesse3mo ago

Arguing over which disaster killed the dinosaurs is my kind of rock bottom.

schmidt.reese3mo ago

My buddy Dave still gets mad about the Deccan Traps debate from his geology trip.