Planetary geologist Neal helps link asteroid impact, mass extinction | News | Notre Dame News | University of Notre Dame Skip To Content Skip To Navigation Skip To Search University of Notre Dame Notre Dame News Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Home Contact Search Menu Home › News › Planetary geologist Neal helps link asteroid impact, mass extinction Planetary geologist Neal helps link asteroid impact, mass extinction Published: March 04, 2010 Author: William G. Gilroy In 1980, a group of scientists suggested that a large meteorite slammed into Earth 65 million years ago, causing one of the most severe mass extinctions of life in the planet’s history and ending the Age of the Dinosaurs. The discovery in 1991 of a 200 kilometer wide impact crater in Chicxulub in the Yucatan, Mexico, coincided with the mass extinctions and the ”Chicxulub impact” hypothesis gradually gained overwhelming acceptance in scientific circles. However, in recent years, a number of scientists have challenged the asteroid impact and mass extinction hypothesis. In response, a distinguished panel of 41 experts from Europe, the U.S., Mexico, Canada and Japan that included Clive Neal, professor of civil and geological sciences at the University of Notre Dame, re-analyzed the relevant literature in the field and examined new data from the analysis of ocean drilling and continental sites. In a paper appearing in today’s edition of the journal Science, Neal and the team of researchers find that alternative hypotheses fail to explain the mass extinction and contend that the Chicxulub impact hypothesis is stronger than ever. Fossil evidence clearly shows that a mass extinction event occurred across Earth roughly 65.5 million years ago. The change was so dramatic that geologists use it to define the end of the Cretaceous period and the start of the Paleogene period. They call the time of the extinctions the “K-Pg boundary.” Critics of the Chicxulub theory suggest that the impact occurred 300,000 years before the K-Pg boundary and was therefore too early to have caused the mass extinctions. Some critics have hypothesized that unusually active volcanoes known as the Deccan Traps, which occurred in the area of modern day India, resulted in global cooling and acid rain that caused the mass extinctions. In their Science paper, however, Neal and the team of researchers state their comprehensive analysis of the data clearly suggests that a large asteroid impact into the sulfate-rich sediments at Chicxulub remains the most plausible cause for the K-Pg boundary mass extinction. Neal examined geochemical changes across the K-Pg boundary, and the influence of volcanic activity from huge eruptions in India at about the same time, on the nature of the observed geochemical changes for the research group. A member of the Notre Dame faculty since 1990, Neal uses petrology and geochemistry to investigate the environment from planetary differentiation to heavy metal pollution. His research is not constrained to the Earth and uses samples and geophysics to study the moon and Martian meteorites. His interests also include the evolution of the moon and Mars and the origin of the solar system. Contact: Clive Neal, professor of civil engineering and geological sciences, 574-631-8328, neal.1@nd.edu Posted In: Research Home Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Related October 05, 2022 Astrophysicists find evidence for the presence of the first stars October 04, 2022 NIH awards $4 million grant to psychologists researching suicide prevention September 29, 2022 Notre Dame, Ukrainian Catholic University launch three new research grants September 27, 2022 Notre Dame, Trinity College Dublin engineers join to advance novel treatment for cystic fibrosis September 22, 2022 Climate-prepared countries are losing ground, latest ND-GAIN index shows For the Media Contact Office of Public Affairs and Communications Notre Dame News 500 Grace Hall Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Pinterest © 2022 University of Notre Dame Search Mobile App News Events Visit Accessibility Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn