Introduction
Climatic change can be defined as any changes in the overall whether system which can be experienced by many regions. An average whether system is said to be composed of average temperatures, precipitation, and wind patterns among other climatic whether changes. So, when all these are affected, you find that they may lead to the drastic increase in temperatures and this is said to have an overall effect to the whole environment. The changes in the climate can be as a result of varying changes in the dynamic processes of the earth, human activities might also lead to the changes in climate and a good example is seen in the global warming and also external forces which may include various variations in the sunlight intensity. (Koeberl, 2002).
Climatic changes is one of the controversial areas which many people should be left to know due to the many impacts which are associated with them. A good example for this case is the meteorite (k/T boundary) which is thought to have caused so many climatic changes over the last 65 million years ago. This was as a result of the human activities that is the comets plus other human activities which are thought to have led to the massive extinction of living organisms. Through this paper, am going to lack at the various effects which are thought to be associated with the K/T boundary over the last 65 million years ago. (Koeberl, 2002).
The actual K/T boundary can be termed as a layer and it lies between the cretaceous and the tertiary sediments in the sedimentary rock deposits. This layer is said to have two layers which are thought to be similar. The two layers are known as the upper layer, which is called the fireball layer and the lower layer which is called the ejecta layer. The fireball layer is 3mm in thickness and it represents 1500 cubic kilometers of debris which are thought to be deposited daily. The K/T boundary is seen to have a huge impact on the earth in that it has led to so many climatic changes to happen and hence affecting so many living human beings and other living organisms. The impact theory explains that there is a large meteorite impacting the earth even though there is no already known origin for this change. Some people believe that it is an asteroid belt or even a comet which is known for all these climatic changes. The K/T boundary is then seen to have the following effects on the climatic change. (Koeberl, 2002).
Extinction of Dinosaurs 65 million years ago
What killed the dinosaurs? There is known evidence that the earth has been subjected to so many climatic changes and other numerous impacts and all these impacts are said to be associated with the comets which are made by human beings. The most recent period of the earth in history which caused so many climatic changes began 65 million years ago and this was as a result of the meteorite impact which caused the extinctions of the world dinosaurs.65 million years ago, the dinosaurs are thought to have still roamed the earth. During this time, the earth temperatures were still different. During this time, the life on earth was still challenged when a meteorite 10 km wide is thought to have hit the Peninsula. This meteorite is thought to have left a 200 km crater and hence as a result, it sends too many kilometers of the shattered debris and so many dusts on the earth’s atmosphere.
As a result, so many dinosaurs plus other living organisms are thought to have died as a result of the shattered debris and the dust in to the atmosphere. The climate changed since then with so many impacts on the earth’s atmosphere. It is also known that cooling effects eventually started from the dust of the explosions which also gave way to the warming effect and this was as a result of the settling of the dust. CO2 also increased and the Co2 is said to have increased from the fires which resulted from the warming effect. A good example for this is the meteor crater which has caused so many effects on our environment. Many researchers are still wondering on what killed the dinosaurs 65 million years ago and other living organisms at the K/T boundary. This meteorite is known to have killed so many living organisms during the time it was set. The dinosaurs are thought to have ruled the earth for almost 190 million years ago and this was during the time when so many living species perished. The dinosaurs filled every niche of the world. But at the end of the Cretaceous, the dinosaurs are thought to have vanished completely and hence this left a big task for many people to actually know what killed these dinosaurs. (Nelson, 2005).
The extinction of these dinosaurs can be evidenced to the K/T boundary. These mass extinctions left so many problems to the people who lived during that time and hence there was the need to determining which caused this mass extinction so that alternative actions could be taken to help prevent further mass extinction. More work has focused on the K/T boundary event and this event caused the mass extinction at the end of the age of the famous dinosaurs about 65 million years ago. It was during this event that there was a suspension layer of dust in the upper atmosphere and this layer is known to have blocked the sunlight and the cooling of the earth. When the layer formed, it is evident that it formed a blocking service and it is this layer which prevented the sunlight from cooling the earth and hence all these events led to the altering of the earth’s phenomena hence leading to so many deaths of the living organisms with the inclusion of the dinosaurs. The meteorite effect also affected the global temperatures. During that time, the global temperatures were caused to increase hence making a hard climate for the living organisms.
These living organisms were then forced to die since the global temperatures were quite unbearable for these living organisms to survive. Scientists also on the other hand are still puzzled by the massive extinctions in the marine microfossils 65 million years ago. They also noted a large increase on the isotopic ally light carbon beneath the ocean floors. Other changes as a result of the meteorite event were the sharp changes which were seen at the deep sea and these changes are thought to have caused the slow rain of the white calcareous plank tonic algae and hence this is seen to have resulted to a more acidic ocean. As a result, the living organisms which were living at these waters were forced to die as a result of the acidic rain. So, the meteorite effect is thought to have caused the inhabitants of the sea to die. This was as a result of the changes which are thought to have taken place in the deep sea hence rendering these waters to become quite acidic hence making the living organisms at these waters to die. As a result, this led to a mass distinction of the sea animals since due to the acidic waters in the deep sea, there were no animals living there hence a huge impact on the climate especially to the living organisms. (Nelson, 2005).
A fall of the meteorite has so many effects on the lad where this meteorite is seen to have fallen. Where the meteorite falls, there is the occurrence of a crater. It is after the formation of the crater that there are so many subsequent shock waves which are seen to appear as a result of this eruption. Also there are also other air blasts plus other heat which is also produced. It is due to this heat and the air blasts which are said to have caused so many plants and animals to die. This is because the heat which is produced by these eruptions cause the earth temperatures to rise hence leading to the earth temperatures to be so warm hence leading to the plants to with and the animals to die. When the meteorite lands on the earth, it is argued that it sends shock waves on the earth. The shock waves are then seen to cause the buildings and trees to fall. As a result, you find that the people in these houses were forced to die and also so many people were exposed to these shock waves. As a result, this led to so many effects on the earth.
Another effect associated with the meteorite is when it falls on the earth; it hits rocks and then causes them to be displaced hence forming so many depressions on the earth’s service. The depressions are then seen to form a broken rock layer which later forms breccias inside these depressions. Eventually, due to the pressures which are inside these depressions, you find that there are also ejections which are produced from these rocks. So, all these affected the climate in that there was diversified soil erosion during this time. This led to many plants to be affected hence leading to a decreased production. The K/T boundary has had so many effects on the crop production million years ago. This is out of the depressions as a result of the volcanoes which were formed when the meteorites fall on the land service hence leading to so many rocks becoming displaced. Also this has had the impact on human beings in that the depression and the misplacement of these rocks would cause buildings to fall hence causing so many deaths as a result. (Weishampel, 2002).
Other climatic effect include the immediate regional and the global cooling, soot and particulates in the earths atmosphere which felt so many buildings and trees hence leading to so many deaths as a result of these effects. Trees felled and also weak buildings were also forced to fall down. As a result, during that time, life was totally threatened as a result of the firestorms plus other environmental effects. As a result, during that time, life was totally threatened, people lived in fear. The global temperatures also rose hence making the climate for the human beings quite unbearable. As a result, so many deaths were recorded during that time.
A ring world is also another effect on the climate which is also associated with the K/T boundary. This is because the ring world is thought to reflect a fraction of the tropical insulations back in to space before it then interacts with the earths atmosphere. So many effects were associated with the ring so many million years ago. A good example in this case is the atmospheric temperatures. The changes in the temperatures ranges from the equatorial poles and due to this ring, you find that the atmospheric temperatures were so much affected hence leading to many living organisms to die. The rain and also the snow cycles were also affected by the ring world. (Weishampel, 2002).
Volcanism is also another climatic change as a result of the meteorite event. Researchers put it that during the Cretaceous period, there was an increased volcanic activity which was taking place. As we all know, when these volcanic activities are taking place, there are so many explosions and many gases which are also exploded from these scenes. These gases are said to be quite harmful to human beings and other living organisms hence leading to so many deaths. Over a period of several million years ago, the volcanisms is known to have created with it a lot of dust and soot and all these are known to have covered the sunlight hence preventing the sunlight from heating the earth. As a result, this produced the climate change to be quite different from the normal temperatures. A good example to explain this is found in India where by the volcano eruptions left floods of flava and today can be called the K/T boundary. So, with these volcanic eruptions, you find that the earth temperatures are fully affected. This is seen by the case when the dust and soot cover the sunlight from penetrating to the earth’s surface. As a result, you find that the temperatures of the earth are so many affected hence leading to poor climatic conditions for the living organisms. (Weishampel, 2002).
The plate tectonics are also other climatic changes which occurred 65 million years ago as a result of the meteorite event. Major changes are seen to have occurred in the organizational of the known continental plates which is also known as the continental drift of the earth continent. This is seen to have as a result of the K/T boundary. Many oceans during this time also experienced so many regressions meaning that they were receding from the land hence leading to a less mild climate to occur. As a result, the living organisms were too affected due to the mild changes of the earth’s climate. The meteorite events also affected the ozone destruction 65 million years ago in that it led to the ejection of gases and these gases are seen to have formed the acid rain.
These climatic changes are linked to the forest fires which accelerate the ejection of these gases hence leading to the climate to be affected. So, with the acid rain, it is seen to have a negative impact on the crops. This is because when the gases combine, they form acid rain and this rain may affect the crop production. So, during this time, the crops were affected so much hence leading to less production to the people living that particular time. On the other hand, the soot which is thought to have come from the forest fires later combined with the waters and this eventually formed the nitric acid aerosols. These nitric acid aerosols are then seen to affect the protective ozone layer of the earth hence affecting the living organisms which lived during that time. So, we find that the living organisms at this period were affected so much as a result of the K/T boundary due to the many diversified impacts which it had. (Wolback, 2005).
Global wildfires in other words firestorms is also another effect which is associated with the meteorite events many millions years ago. The firestorms are accelerated by the methane gas and these gases are said to be released by the earth as a result of the collisions which are as a result of the K/T boundary hence leading to so many effects on the earth. The forest fires since they usually occur in forests are said to cause a diversified loss to the vegetation hence leading to a large bear land. As a result, these fires when they occur on these vegetations are said to lead to soil erosion hence many crops will be affected. So, with the forest fires, you find that the vegetation for this case will be highly affected hence leading to the loss of the economy. So, during that time, the K/T boundary had so many impacts on the earth’s services hence this led to so many effects on the human beings and the living organisms at that particular time period. (Wolback, 2005).
Conclusion
Climatic changes are as a result of the mans activities on the earth. A good example for this case is the meteorite event which is comets which have been caused by man. As a result, the meteorite event had so many impacts many years ago for both human beings and other living organisms which lived at that particular time. A good example for this case is the world dinosaurs which lived so many years ago and are thought to have been extinct by the K/T boundary. So, the human activities are seen as the major impact on the climatic changes. Its upon all of us to make sure that the human activities which lead to these effects have been controlled. A good way to do this is by recycling these materials to ensure that these materials are not affecting the climate. A good example here is recycling the gases which are ejected from these volcanoes to make sure that they are not harmful. When these gases are then recycled, then you find that they are not harmful to the environment and can then be used in other areas and an example for this is in the steel industry whereby these gases are recycled to make good products say steel.
Reference
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