Scientists from NASA suggested that the volcano on Mars could have caused the death of the dinosaurs.
According to the researchers, the increased activity of the Martian volcano Arsia could trigger the processes that provoked the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Today, Mount Arsia is an extinct thyroid giant on the surface of Mars. It is one of the highest mountains on the planets of the solar system. The height of this volcano reaches 19 kilometers. Scientists managed to establish that the period of its peak activity coincides with the dating of the disappearance of large animal lizardmen on our planet.
“We can assume that the peak activity of the volcanic region on the Arsia plateau probably occurred 150 million years ago, during the late Jurassic period, after which it completely stopped at about the same time when the dinosaurs on Earth became extinct,” said an employee of the Center for Space NASA flights Jacob Richardson.
According to scientists, the activity of Mount Arsia manifests itself at intervals of 3 million years. They came to this conclusion using computer simulation programs. As the researchers note, they have not yet managed to finally figure out what processes could have been triggered by an eruption of a Martian volcano on Earth, but they suggest that this volcano could contribute to the extinction of dinosaurs.
Scientists intend to continue studying this ancient volcano in order to understand what impact Mars may have on Earth.