Study: Dinosaurs were charbroiled after Chicxulub impact

A research team analyzed charring patterns in fossilized remains and concluded that extreme heat from the Chicxulub asteroid impact 66 million years ago killed dinosaurs rapidly. The study examined burn marks on skeletal material and sediment layers near the impact site in present-day Mexico. Researchers estimated that temperatures in the impact zone reached levels sufficient to cause severe thermal injury within hours of the collision. The findings were presented as one mechanism contributing to the mass extinction event that ended the Cretaceous period.

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