SCIENCE UPDATE

232 million years ago, severe volcanic eruptions and acid rain triggered the heyday of the dinosaurs.

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PALAEONTOLOGY A meteor strike ended the dinosaurs, but they also began in a dramatic way, according to a new study by Italian and English scientists. The Dolomites mountain range in Northern Italy could provide evidence for when the biodiversity of the ancient giants seriously gained speed.

The studies show that the dinosaurs’ dominance exploded 232 million years ago in the Triassic geological period 251-200 million years ago, when the climate was warm and dry with brief periods of moist climate.

During the era up to the breakthrough of the dinosaurs, the world was subjected to a series of severe climate change scenarios with four consecutive, highly moist periods, as evidenced by the sediment layers that scientists studied in the Dolomites. The layers mostly consist of lime sand, whereas the the soil layers from the dry periods are dominated by marly limestone. When Earth’s climate changed, animals’ ability to adapt was seriously put to the test. The fossils reveal that the dinosaurs were better at coping with the challenge than their competitors, possibly because many dinosaur species were ready to take over several different niches. Just before the era of dinosaurs, Earth's dry land was dominated by a major variety of reptiles – from crocodile-like species and turtles to groups that do not have any modern descendants.

According to scientists, the cause of the tremendous climate change is very severe volcanic activity in the region that is now Western Canada. The volcanic eruptions caused a moister climate, global warming, and acid rain, wiping out some species. The group of animals that later evolved into mammals apparently also benefitted from climate change.