Cause of largest mass extinction in history found, which wiped out more than 80 percent of the world’s population

According to scientists, more than 90 percent of marine species and more than 75 percent of terrestrial species disappeared during the Late Permian Mass Extinction, sometimes referred to as the “great death,” that occurred about 260 million years ago.

The largest mass extinction event in Earth’s history may have occurred with the release of methane produced by volcanic activity burning buried fossil fuel stores, according to a new study by Lancaster University. It has been found in research that the released methane also causes a high amount of warming of the planet.

Billions of tons of methane gas may have been released into the atmosphere

Previous research on the subject had shown that the Late Permian Mass Extinction was mainly caused by large-volume carbon emissions produced by volcanoes, and that the extinction event was likely due to the catastrophic effects of an intense period of global warming.

Taking into account the volume, rock density and quantities of the gas reservoirs, sampling from natural gas wells in the basin, the scientists discovered that as much as 1440 Gigatons of methane could have been released into the atmosphere from the entire basin during the Late Permian. Because methane has 28 times the global warming potential than carbon dioxide over a 100-year period, experts claim this is equivalent to 40,410 Gigatons of carbon dioxide, or more than 1,000 times annual carbon emissions.

As a result of the research, although scientists accept carbon dioxide as the main driver of global warming and mass extinction, new findings reveal that large amounts of methane release play a key role in the “great death” event that the world has experienced. The study has been published in detail in the journal Nature.