Interdisciplinary Natural Sciences Critical Analysis Essay

College of Liberal Studies University of Oklahoma

LSTD 3003 - Interdisciplinary Inquiry

Unit3 Interdisciplinary Natural Sciences Analysis Essay

What killed the dinosaurs?

Paleontology is the science of the forms of life existing in former geologic periods, as represented by their fossils. Ever since paleontology came into being scientists have been asking the question, what killed the dinosaurs? How did they go extinct?

One of the great stories in the history of interdisciplinary exploration and discovery is that of Dr. Luis Alvarez and his theory that a six mile wide asteroid crashed into the earth 65 million years ago and wiped out the dinosaurs (almost overnight in geologic time). In the June 6, 1980 edition of Science magazine, Dr. Alvarez, along with a team of researchers (his son geologist Walter Alvarez and chemists Frank Asaro and Helen Vaughn Michel) published the article Extraterrestrial Cause for the Cretaceous–Tertiary Extinction, which they felt proved this theory. This article revolutionized the way that scientists thought about the dinosaur extinction event. What follows is that very article (Extraterrestrial Cause for the Cretaceous–Tertiary Extinction) that started it all. Please read it carefully. Pay close attention to the role theses disciplines played in creating this new knowledge (physics, geology, chemistry, astronomy, paleontology) as you will be asked to write your interdisciplinary essay over this article. As you read please be observant of a couple of important things. First, you may find parts of it difficult to follow. This is a good example of how scholars talk to each other. His audience is fellow paleontologists so try to think of yourself as a person in that profession as you read. Second, notice the citations throughout the paper and the list of references at the end. The reason we are asking you to do the “research and documentation” assignments in each unit is because proper documentation is a must in academic research. Notice the priority Dr. Alvarez gives it throughout the paper. We now present Doctors Luis Alvarez, Walter Alvarez, Frank Asaro, and Helen Vaughn Michel.