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Who knew dinosaur farts could cause climate change. That's what scientists are believing as they calculate how much gas would have expelled as a result of their digestion.

Scientists from Liverpool John Moore's University in the UK have calculated the methane output of sauropods—the dinosaur family which includes the species known as Brontosaurus and they did this by comparing their digestive system to that of cows. The results predict that the world's population of dinosaurs would have produced around 520 million tonnes of methane annually.

David Wilkinson, one of the researchers, explains to the BBC:

"Although it's the dinosaur element that captures the popular imagination with this work, actually it is the microbes living in the dinosaurs guts that are making the methane... Cows today produce something like 50-100 [million tonnes] per year. Our best estimate for Sauropods is around 520 [million tonnes]."

500 million tonnes of methane a year would definitely have a negative impact on the environment that's for sure. [Current Biology via BBC]