Wednesday, March 7, IC34
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Daily Nebraskan
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Subjects including foreign relations,
women pioneers, Harry S. Truman,
Jewish history, genealogy, music, the
American dream, the history of nurs
ing and much more will be addressed
during the 27th Annual Missouri Val
ley History Conference Thursday
through Saturday at the Best Western
Regency West, 1-080 and Pacific streets
In Omaha.
This year's featured speakers are
George Brown Tindalk Kenan profes
sor of history at the University of
North Carolina (Chapel Hill); and Gre
gory G. Guzman, professor of history
with Bradley University (Peoria, III).
For more information or to pre
register, contact Jo Ann Carrigan,
UNO Department of History, Omaha,
Neb., 68182, phone 554-25H,or 554-
2593.
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Extinction theory postulated
By Jay Mulligan
A gigantic meteor may have crashed
to Earth millions of years ago, result
ing in the extinction of dinosaurs a
round the planet, according to a recent
report from the University of Cali
fornia at Berkeley. The report said the
meteor may have wiped out 20 percent
to 70 percent of the Earth's plant and
animal life.
UNL researchers point out that the
report is only theory. The theory is
based on the discovery of iridium, a
rare element found in the Earth's crust,
said Robert Hunt, UNL associate geol
ogy professor. The California research
ers believe iridium is the result of a
large meteor crash.
"A single asteroid between three and
five miles wide crashed into the Earth,
according to the California group,"
said Michael Voorhies, UNL geology
professor.
"It hit so fast it pulverized itself and
pulverized the Earth's surface where it
hit, causing so much dust that it would
screen out the sun for maybe two or
more years," Voorhies said. "If you
block out the sunlight for two years,
the plants could die, causing the plant
eating dinosaurs to starve and die,
thus causing the meat-eating dinosaurs
to die as well," Voorhies said.
Voorhies said the theory is a hot
debate topic among geologists. He said
an entire episode was devoted to the
theory last year on Nova, a public
broadcast series. c
"U's nopn andsh"t case," said
Voorhies. "The big question is the tin
relationship between the death of the
dinosaurs and the date of the iridiun
deposits."
Voorhies said the time span re
searchers are working with is about 63
million years, and the iridium has been
dated to within 1 mUion years of the
death of the dinosaurs. It will be sev
eral years before researchers have a
better idea of how closely related they
are, Voorhies said. 3
"One problem I have with the theory
is the fact that a lot of plants and
animals did not die," Voorhies said. "It
looks as if the extinction was selective
Why didn't the crocodiles and turtles
die as well as several tropical forms of
plant life?"
Nebraska was under a shallow sea
during the time of the dinosaurs, but
many giant water reptiles existed here
Voorhies said. If the theory is correct'
reptiles could have been killed in much
the same way. The death of plankton
in the ocean may have caused the fish
to die, which would lead to the death
of the larger reptiles, Voorhies said.
Voorhies said he will teach a mini
course next fall on dinosaur extinc
tion and evolution.
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This dinosaur which resides in Morrill Hall may have died because of a
meteor crashing to earth millions of years e-d.
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