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Acid raid, ozone depletion contributed to ancient extinction

By Guest PostDecember 2, 2013Science3d modeling technique, acid raid, ancient extinction, arctic siberia, atmospheric effects, base, benjamin black, carbon dioxide, christine shields, CO2, earth history, ecological diversity, fluctuations in ph, global ozone collapse, jean francois lamarque, jeffrey kiehl, kotuy river, linda elkins tanton, mass extinction, massachusetts institute, ozone depletion, permian mass extinction, permian period, rise of dinosaurs, russia, Siberia, siberian traps, so2, sulfur dioxide, Technology, terrestrial species, ultraviolet radiation, volcanic eruptions, volcanic rock, volcanic sequence

Washington, D.C.— Around 250 million years ago, at the end of the Permian period, there was a mass extinction so severe that it remains the most traumatic known species die-off in Earth’s history. Some researchers have suggested that this extinction was triggered by contemporaneous volcanic eruptions in Siberia. New results from a team including Director of Carnegie’s Department of Terrestrial Magnetism Linda Elkins-Tanton show that the atmospheric effects of these eruptions could have been devastating. Their work is published in Geology.

The mass extinction included the sudden loss of more than 90 percent of marine species and more than 70 percent of terrestrial species and set the stage for the rise of the dinosaurs. The fossil record suggests that ecological diversity did not fully recover until several million years after the main pulse of the extinction. (more…)

A key to mass extinctions could boost food, biofuel production

By Guest PostMay 21, 2013Naturebiofuel production, concentration, extinction events, food crops, frederick dooley, genetic signaling, great dying, hydrogen sulfide, key, level, mass extinction, parts per million, permian period, peter ward, rate of germination, rotten egg smell, species on earth, suven nair, toxic effects, university of washington, water

Hydrogen sulfide, the pungent stuff often referred to as sewer gas, is a deadly substance implicated in several mass extinctions, including one at the end of the Permian period 251 million years ago that wiped out more than three-quarters of all species on Earth.

But in low doses, hydrogen sulfide could greatly enhance plant growth, leading to a sharp increase in global food supplies and plentiful stock for biofuel production, new University of Washington research shows. (more…)

Global Extinction: Gradual Doom as Bad as Abrupt

By Guest PostFebruary 8, 2012Environment, Sciencebrooks ellwood, canadian arctic, carbon dioxide, charles henderson, coal deposit, dead zone, earth, ellesmere island, extinction, factor, fossil, geologic history, geology, global extinction, greenhouse, greenhouse gas, h richard lane, harry rowe, indian ocean, katherine freeman, marine life, mass extinction, national science foundation, ocean, permian period, permian triassic boundary, sedimentary rock, siberian traps, siberian volcanic activity, south china, steven bates, tethys, the great dying, thomas algeo, timothy lyons, united states, university of calgary, university of cincinnati, volcanic deposit, volcanic rock, volcanism in siberia, warming, west blind fiord

*In “The Great Dying” 250 million years ago, the end came slowly*

The deadliest mass extinction of all took a long time to kill 90 percent of Earth’s marine life–and it killed in stages–according to a newly published report.

It shows that mass extinctions need not be sudden events.

Thomas Algeo, a geologist at the University of Cincinnati, and 13 colleagues have produced a high-resolution look at the geology of a Permian-Triassic boundary section on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic. (more…)

Tag Archives: permian period

Acid raid, ozone depletion contributed to ancient extinction

A key to mass extinctions could boost food, biofuel production

Global Extinction: Gradual Doom as Bad as Abrupt