Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 12, 2026
07:30
Using Archival Japanese Paper and Thermoplastic Resins to Prepare Fossils for Storage, Display, Transport, and Radiography
Published on: November 14, 2025
Terminal cretaceous extinction scenario for a catastrophe.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|December 14, 1979
Summary
A single terrestrial catastrophe may explain dinosaur extinction and other Cretaceous biotic changes. This event caused rapid climate shifts, impacting vegetation and leading to widespread ecological disasters.
Area of Science:
- Paleontology
- Climate Science
- Geology
Background:
- The end of the Cretaceous period saw significant biotic changes, including the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs.
- Previous hypotheses for mass extinctions include asteroid impacts and volcanic activity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and evaluate the Arctic spillover model as a unifying explanation for end-Cretaceous biotic changes.
- To link terrestrial and marine extinction events through a single catastrophic cause.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing paleoclimatological and paleontological data.
- Modeling the potential effects of a rapid Arctic climate shift on global ecosystems.
Main Results:
- The Arctic spillover model suggests a rapid, intense climate change (lowered temperature and precipitation) as a consequence of a terrestrial catastrophe.
- This climate shift is proposed to have drastically altered global vegetation distribution.
- The model provides a potential mechanism for the extinction of dinosaurs and other biotic changes.
Conclusions:
- A single terrestrial catastrophe, potentially explained by the Arctic spillover model, offers a unifying hypothesis for end-Cretaceous extinctions.
- Rapid climate change is identified as a key driver of ecological collapse and species extinction during this period.
Related Concept Videos
02:56The Fossil Record
The fossil record documents only a small fraction of all organisms that have ever inhabited Earth. Fossilization is a rare process, and most organisms never become fossils. Moreover, the fossil record only exhibits fossils that have been discovered. Nevertheless, sedimentary rock fossils of long-lived, abundant, hard-bodied organisms dominate the fossil record. These fossils offer valuable information, such as an organism's physical form, behavior, and age. Studying the fossil record helps...
01:50Threats to Biodiversity
There have been five major extinction events throughout geological history, resulting in the elimination of biodiversity, followed by a rebound of species that adapted to the new conditions. In the current geological epoch, the Holocene, there is a sixth extinction event in progress. This mass extinction has been attributed to human activities and is thus provisionally called the Anthropocene. In 2019 the human population reached 7.7 billion people and is projected to comprise 10 billion by...
02:35What is Evolutionary History?
Scientists record evolutionary history by analyzing fossil, morphological, and genetic data. The fossil record documents the history of life on Earth and provides evidence for evolution. However, both fossil and living organisms offer evidence that outlines Earth’s evolutionary history.Phylogenetic trees illustrate the evolutionary relationships among these organisms. Scientists infer organisms’ common ancestry by evaluating shared morphological and genetic characteristics. Together, the fossil...
02:07Conservation of Declining Populations
Conservation of declining population focuses on ways of detecting, diagnosing, and halting a population decline. The approach uses methods to prevent populations from going extinct.
02:31Habitat Fragmentation
Habitat fragmentation describes the division of a more extensive, continuous habitat into smaller, discontinuous areas. Human activities such as land conversion, as well as slower geological processes leading to changes in the physical environment, are the two leading causes of habitat fragmentation. The fragmentation process typically follows the same steps: perforation, dissection, fragmentation, shrinkage, and attrition.
02:04Conservation of Small Populations
Small population sizes put a species at extreme risk of extinction due to a lack of variation, and a consequent decrease in adaptability. This weakens the chances of survival under pressures such as climate change, competition from other species, or new diseases. Large populations are more likely to survive pressures such as these, as such populations are more likely to harbor individuals that have genetic variants that are adaptive under new stresses. Small populations are much less likely to...