How did the KT extinction happen?

The Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event, or the K-T event, is the name given to the die-off of the dinosaurs and other species that took place some 65.5 million years ago. This suggests that a comet, asteroid or meteor impact event may have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.

What is the KT boundary layer evidence of?

The K-T boundary separates the age of reptiles and the age of mammals, which was first recognized over one hundred years ago by geologists who realized that there was a dramatic change in the types of fossils deposited on either side of this boundary.

What is evidence for scientists of periods of mass extinction?

The factors that led to a mass extinction at the end of the Permian Period remind us very much of today, says Prof. Wolfgang Kießling. “There is much evidence of severe global warming, ocean acidification and a lack of oxygen. What separates us from the events of the past is the extent of these phenomena.

How did the KT Boundary form?

Researchers now think that the asteroid strike that created the K-T boundary was probably the Chicxulub Crater. This is a massive impact crater buried under Chicxulub on the coast of Yucatan, Mexico. The crater measures 180 kilometers across, and occurred about 65 million years ago.

Where is the KT boundary?

Trinidad Lake State Park

How deep is the KT boundary?

The K-T boundary is identified at 794.11 m, ≈50 cm above the impact breccia (Fig.

Where is the KT layer thickest?

The upper unit, the K-T boundary impact layer, is typically 5 mm thick in the Raton Basin and elsewhere in Western North America, whereas it is only about 1 mm thick at Caravaca, Spain, and Stevns Klint, Denmark.

How big was the KT asteroid?

According to abundant geological evidence, an asteroid roughly 10 km (6 miles) across hit Earth about 65 million years ago. This impact made a huge explosion and a crater about 180 km (roughly 110 miles) across.