Environmental Futures
How does all of this relate to our current climate change situation?
As we previously found out, climate during the dinosaurs life was constantly changing. We too are beginning to understand the effect we are having on our environment .We can use knowledge gained from the past to help predict our future, and perhaps the most extreme evidence of sudden climate change occurred at the very end of the Cretaceous period.
By applying the "meteorite theory", we can see how extreme climate change can effect a species. Altering the Earth's atmosphere can be dangerous! It in turn can effect the weather, air quality, food sources, fauna, flora and resources available. Dinosaurs needed to adapt to their changing planet. Wetter and colder conditions in North America caused the larger herds of dinosaurs to split up, resulting in smaller packs that found it more difficult to survive. Already we are seeing this. Parts of Australia are becoming hot and dry, resulting in scarce water, forcing animals to move to new areas. Will humans be next?
Image by Carina, Year 6
Citations
National Geographic News (2003) Dinosaur Killer, Asteroid Crater Imaged for the First Time [internet article] Available: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/03/0307_030307_impactcrater.html Accessed 12/02/2008
Natural History Museum, London [site visit] 07/11/2007
Falkingham, Peter (2008) Email Interview, 21st Feb 2008