A new study published in the scientific journal Science Advances has uncovered a new cause of the largest extinction ever experienced on Earth. The Permian-Triassic mass extinction event, called the ‘Great Extinction’, took place about 250 million years ago. This event, in which 80-90% of land and sea creatures disappeared, has emerged for a different reason than the one thought.
By examining the geological remains, scientists discovered that a large part of the ozone layer was destroyed by the sudden decrease and rise in the oxygen level during this period, and the ocean chemistry was also changed. The reason for this was the volcanic eruptions in Siberia that lasted for about a million years. Researchers have now found a different reason for this mysterious extinction event.
The world experienced a harsh winter just before it scorched:
The information obtained so far indicated that the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by the erupting volcanoes in Siberia almost turned the planet into an oven and acidified the oceans and put an end to life. However, new findings show that before this event occurred, volcanoes in southern China erupted, and volcanoes in Siberia had the opposite effect. Stating that when they examined this period, they saw that there was more than one reason for the ‘extinction’ event, New York University geologist Michael Rampino said that the copper, mercury and other mineral fragments they found in the south of China belonged to the Permian-Triassic mass extinction period and were exposed to intense amounts of sulfur. He says he found them.
Researchers say that if volcanic eruptions release such dense sulfur into the atmosphere, they will block sunlight and lower the temperature, suggesting that the Earth’s surface may have cooled seriously. Stating that the order of the atmosphere and ocean chemistry was destroyed by the temperatures experienced with the Siberian volcanic eruptions that followed, the researchers state that the Permian-Triassic mass extinction, which ended almost all of life, could be volcanic eruptions in two different places.
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