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Around 65 millions years there is an iridium glitch in the fossil record. Scientists estimate that about 50 percent of all life on earth died out at the same time including dinosaurs like T. rex and Triceratops as well as plants and tiny marine organisms. This is known as the Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinction or K-T Event. Incidentally, it’s “K” not “C” because geologists use “K” as shorthand for Cretaceous. Many scientists believe the iridium layer or K-T boundary found all over the world is evidence of a gigantic asteroid hitting the earth since iridium is not commonly found in high concentrations on earth. It’s more common in space. Since the dinosaurs died at this time, it is believed a large meteorite slammed into the earth and killed them, but the story’s more complicated then that. Not all dinosaurs are extinct. Birds are living dinosaurs.

A massive meteorite did slam into the earth. Chicxulub, in Mexico, is the probable site. The crater can still be seen on satellite images. When it hit, it disintegrated and sent mega tons of iridium debris flying into the atmosphere. The friction from the impact and the particles careening around superheated the atmosphere instantly killing all life on one third of the planet. It took decades for the particles in the atmosphere to settle. They deflected the sun’s light killing plant life and anything above it on the food chain.

The fossil record also shows evidence of heavy volcanic activity, global wildfires and rapidly changing sea levels at this time. Were these large-scale changes in environment already occurring or were they caused by the impact? The answer is still unknown.

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