Charles L. Drake; Theory on Dinosaurs’ Doom

Charles L. Drake, 72, an emeritus professor at Dartmouth College and a leading advocate of the theory that a volcanic eruption led to the demise of dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Drake argued that volcanic eruptions in India spewed lava over 200,000 square miles, releasing chlorine, sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide that led to the dinosaurs’ extinction. He was in prominent opposition to the view of many of his colleagues that dinosaurs disappeared after a meteor collided with the Earth, sending up a dust cloud that blocked the sun. A more recent theory has combined the ideas, suggesting that a meteor set off shock waves that led to volcanic eruptions. Drake was on President George Bush’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology from 1990 to 1992 and was a fellow of the American Assn. for the Advancement of Science. In the mid-1960s, he headed Columbia University’s geology department. On Tuesday of a heart attack at his home in Norwich, Vt.