This gas would have combined with water vapor to form sulfuric acid, leading to a sharp and sudden drop in ocean pH. The most widely accepted cause is the impact of a massive asteroid or comet, approximately 10 to 15 kilometers in diameter, which struck the Earth near what is now the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico.
Ocean Chemistry Sensitivity and the Path to Extinction
Environmental Consequences of the Impact The environmental aftermath was what truly sealed the ammonites' fate. Compounding this darkness and cold was the acidification of the world's oceans.
Their reliance on a healthy, sunlit ocean made them a canary in the coal mine, and they perished as the ecosystem they dominated collapsed. This strategy, while successful for dispersal, made them completely dependent on the health of the planktonic ecosystem, which was the first to collapse during the impact winter.
Ocean Chemistry Sensitivity and Acidification During the Impact Winter
Without a stable supply of food, populations would have crashed rapidly. Their reign began in the Devonian period and lasted through the Jurassic and Cretaceous, creating a fossil record so rich they became iconic markers for geological time.
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