What Really Killed the Dinosaurs? - documentary

 What Really Killed the Dinosaurs?
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Do we really know what killed the dinosaurs? This extinction event is known as the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) extinction event where around three quarters of all life on Earth was suddenly wiped out by a massive meteorite around 66 million years ago. Some creatures did survive this catastrophic event such as the leather-back turtle, crocodile and a number of small ground dwelling tetrapods however nothing that weighed more than 55 pounds was left alive. This was the end of the Cretaceous period and the end of the dinosaurs rule over the Earth. Of course this was great news for mammals and the mass extinction is why we are around today to investigate it. However is the theory that the 10km wide meteorite that struck Yucatan, Mexico and caused kilometer high tsunamis, and blocked the sun out for years really the reason why dinosaurs are no longer around today?

 

The impact theory was beautifully simple and hugely easy to appreciate. But a team of scientists led by Professor Gerta Keller of Princeton have found geological evidence to suggest that it was not simply a meteorite that killed them off but a much more complex story that happened millions of years after the crater at Yucatan had formed. 

 

Of course challenging such a widely accepted theory of what killed the dinosaurs was met with much criticism as we see in this 2004 BBC documentary, however Keller and her team have been gaining a lot of support over the years. With stunning CGI graphics and the help of all the key scientists, Horizon’s “What Really Killed the Dinosaurs?” explores the growing body of evidence which raises fundamental questions about the impact theory

Category
Animal, Science

Presenter
Jack Fortune
Year
2004
Watch time
00:45:57

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