Q: WERE THE DINOSAURS KILLED OFF BY AN ASTEROID IMPACT, OR BY VOLCANOES? A: YES. Study Finds Asteroid Ahead of Dinosaur Extinction Accelerated Volcanoes. “For decades, researchers have debated whether a major asteroid strike or enormous volcanic eruptions led to the demise of dinosaurs almost 66 million years ago. According to a new study, the answer might be somewhere in between: The asteroid impact accelerated the eruptions of volcanoes, and together, these catastrophes led to the mass extinction.” Hey, when you have an earth-shattering kaboom, the earth shatters.