New research shows Earth may have been contaminated with high levels of mercury long before a giant asteroid struck the planet, spelling the end of dinosaurs.
While some scientists believe the impact of the Chicxulub asteroid solely caused the mass extinction event over 66 million years ago, a new group of researchers has determined that other factors may played a part in the wipeout of the species prior to the hit of the deadly space rock.
Researchers on the University of Michigan-led study, published in the Nature Communications journal on Dec. 16, examined fossilized marine mollusk shells across the globe to discover “what appears to be a global signal of both abrupt ocean warming and distinctly elevated mercury concentrations” associated with the massive volcanic eruptions of the Deccan Traps in western India, according to a statement accompanying the study.
Source: IGN.com Study Finds Mercury Contamination Occurred Before Dinosaur Extinction