Dating the influence of Deccan Traps eruptions

Earth History The Deccan Traps flood basalts in India represent over a million cubic kilometers of erupted lava. These massive eruptions occurred around the same time as the end-Cretaceous mass extinction some 65 million years ago, which famously wiped out all nonavian dinosaurs. Schoene et al. determined the precise timing and duration of the main phase of the eruptions, which lasted over 750,000 years and occurred just 250,000 years before the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary. The relative contribution of these eruptions and of the Chicxulub impact in Mexico to the mass extinction remains unclear, but both provide potential kill mechanisms. Science , this issue p. [182][1] ![Figure][2] Gases released in these lava flows in India may have aided an extinction event PHOTO: © DINODIA PHOTOS/ALAMY [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aaa0118 [2]: pending:yes