The Deccan Traps

Scientists had it all figured out. The dinosaurs were destroyed 66 million years ago when an asteroid hit the earth just off the coast of what is now Mexico. Its impact created wildfires that burned for 900 miles and rubble rained back down to the ground for hours. The dinosaurs were toast, we all know this. But nowadays scientists aren’t so sure if the asteroid strike tells the entire story.

The Deccan Traps are an area in western India. The rocks in this area were created millions of years ago from volcanoes. Today, some scientists believe that the volcanoes that formed the Deccan Traps might have played a role in the dinosaur extinction.

Magma is hot molten rock that flows up to the surface through cracks in the earth’s crust. These cracks are called seams. But molten rock isn’t the only thing that rises out of the earth. Seams also give off volcanic gasses. These gasses are often poisonous. Many of these gasses are the same greenhouse gasses that cause climate change today. Greenhouse gasses are causing the earth to get warmer. Scientists believe volcanic gasses could have had the same effect long ago. These gasses also change water in the ocean. The amount of oxygen in the water goes down. That makes it hard for animals to live.

Rock forms when magma or lava hardens. Geologists call this area of rock “traps.” Traps are signs that volcanoes have erupted there in the past. Scientists study traps to understand what the earth was like a long time ago.

The Deccan Traps are where magma was active millions of years ago. It is one of the largest areas of volcanic activity in the world. It is roughly the size of both Washington and Oregon states. The rock formed from the magma is 6,500 feet thick. That’s more than a mile thick of rock!

Since many volcanoes erupted in this area, it’s possible that the Deccan Traps released a lot of gasses. These poisonous gasses could have changed the earth’s temperature and water and made it hard for dinosaurs to live.

But knowing when the volcanoes of the Deccan Traps erupted is difficult. Scientists have argued about when exactly the volcanoes in this area were erupting. Were these volcanoes active around the time of the asteroid impact?

Two different groups of scientists believe that the Deccan Traps volcanoes were active right around the time the dinosaurs went extinct. Some suggest these volcanoes were erupting right as the asteroid landed on Earth. Others say the volcanoes started erupting before the asteroid. These scientists think the volcanoes became even more active after the impact. They think the asteroid might have caused the volcanoes to erupt more!

Scientists aren’t only studying dinosaurs when they learn from the Deccan Traps. They’re working to understand how the volcanoes changed the earth’s environment. Understanding how gasses affect the earth and its animals is important. They hope that what they learn can teach us about how our greenhouse gasses are changing the earth today.