Researchers suspect that the Siberian Traps eruption, which occurred just 10 million years later, was responsible for the Permian-Triassic extinction, the worst mass dying of all time. And though they agree that the huge eruptions disrupted climate, views are split over whether it was global warming from the excess carbon, or global cooling from large amounts of sulfur dioxide (SO2), that did the killing. "This is an important study, as it tries to link basaltic eruptions directly to the extinction," Henrik Svensen of the University of Oslo said. "It is difficult to know exactly what the organisms died from, if judging from the fossils themselves." Related Links: Discovery Earth Live: Mass Extinctions |
advertisement
|
-
our sites
-
video
mobile
-
shop
-
stay connected
-
corporate
