When Non-Avian Dinosaurs Went Extinct, the Earth Changed—Literally. Scientists Think They Finally Know Why

Rocks formed immediately before and after non-avian dinosaurs went extinct are strikingly different, and now, tens of millions of years later, scientists think they’ve identified the culprit—and it wasn’t the Chicxulub asteroid impact.

In a study published Monday in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, researchers argue that dinosaurs physically influenced their surroundings so dramatically that their disappearance led to stark changes to the…