Why Dinosaurs Became Extinct

The last of the dinosaurs died about 65 million years ago, along with more than
50% of other life forms on the planet. This extinction is so dramatic that it was
used to mark the boundary between the Cretaceous Period (time when the last
dinosaurs lived) and the Tertiary Period (when there were no more dinosaurs).
This is often referred to as the K/T boundary (Cretaceous/Tertiary). The extinction
is called the K/T extinction event.
There are many theories as to how the dinosaurs became extinct. Although the
cause of their extinction is still a mystery, climatic change, diseases, changing
plant communities, and geologic events could all have played a role. The most
widely accepted theory is that an asteroid, 6 - 15 kilometers in diameter hit the
earth about 65 million years ago. The impact would have penetrated the Earths
crust, scattering debris in the atmosphere, causing fires, volcanic eruptions,
tsunamis, storms with strong winds and acidic rain from the volcanoes. The
asteroids impact could have caused chemical changes in the earths atmosphere,
increasing the concentration of dangerous acids to extremely high levels. The
heat from the impact would have burnt all living things in its path. Sunlight would
have been blocked for months, lowering the temperature. Living things that
werent able to adapt to the changes in temperature and light died out. Plants
died, changing the levels of oxygen - both on land and in the oceans - and
suffocated all those that werent able to cope with lower levels of oxygen. The
food chain was changed dramatically because of the environmental changes. All
plant-eating living things died soon after the plants died. It then followed on that
the meat-eaters died because their food sources were gone.
Some scientists believe that dinosaurs became extinct due to extreme volcanic
activities. They thought that a huge increase in volcanic activity could have
pumped so much ash into the air that it blocked out the sun, killing the dinosaurs.
Still others believe that climate change caused the extinction. One theory is that a
very severe ice age could have changed temperatures and frozen a lot of the
earths water supplies. The dinosaurs would not be able to live under such
conditions and that is how they thought they became extinct. Another theory is
that a gradual change in climate over a long period of time happened, and
dinosaurs were not able to adapt to the cooler, dryer climate and the all perished.
Yet another theory is that a disease - a very deadly and contagious disease may
have spread among the dinosaurs, causing them to be wiped out.
There are probably other theories out there as to how dinosaurs became extinct.
So what is the answer? As paleontologists continue to search for clues to support
their theories, we can only wait and speculate on the real reason behind this great
mystery of nature.