Stories written regarding these articles are embargoed until January 1. Please contact Ann Cairns at GSA to request advance copies of articles and for additional information or assistance. Dinosaur extinction has been a very controversial subject since the publication of the asteroid impact hypothesis in 1980. This paper presents detailed evidence of the occurrence of dinosaur, bird, mammal, fish, amphibian, lizard, pterosaur, and crocodilian fossils relative to the K-T boundary in North Dakota.
Dinosaurs are common in the youngest localities that preserve vertebrate fossils.
This evidence is compatible with the idea that the extinction of the dinosaurs was caused by an extraterrestrial impact. Ocean stagnation and end-Permian anoxia Roberta M. Hotinski et al. This paper presents results of a computer modeling study to assess the possible role of ocean chemistry and circulation in the end-Permian mass extinction. The cause of this extinction remains a mystery, but ocean chemistry is a leading candidate. Several authors have proposed that warm climatic conditions inhibited ocean mixing prior to the extinction, creating deep ocean waters devoid of oxygen that had lethal effects when brought into contact with the shallow marine environment.