Article: Boost to CO2 mass extinction idea
- From: "Robert Karl Stonjek" <rstonjek@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2005 00:56:58 -0400 (EDT)
Boost to CO2 mass extinction idea
By Helen Briggs
A computer simulation of the Earth's climate 250 million years ago suggests
that global warming triggered the so-called "great dying".
A dramatic rise in carbon dioxide caused temperatures to soar to 10 to 30
degrees Celsius higher than today, say US researchers.
The warming had a profound impact on the oceans, cutting off oxygen to the
lower depths and extinguishing most lifeforms, they write in the latest
issue of Geology.
The research adds to the growing body of evidence that higher temperatures,
rather than a giant space rock hitting the planet, led to the greatest mass
extinction in history.
Prehistoric extinction
The extinction, at the end of the Permian Period and the beginning of the
Triassic, has puzzled scientists for many years.
Some 95% of lifeforms in the oceans became extinct, along with about
three-quarters of land species.
Many possible reasons for this catastrophic event have been proposed -
including impacts, volcanism, climate change and glaciation. Hard evidence,
however, has been difficult to find.
The latest data from scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric
Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado, supports the view that extensive
volcanic activity over the course of hundreds of thousands of years released
large amounts of carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide into the air, gradually
warming up the planet.
Full Text at The BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4184110.stm
Posted by
Robert Karl Stonjek
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