Socked Ukrainian University’s scientists have identified a new factor that contributed to a mass extinction of 250 million years ago, at the end of the Permian period. Analysis of ancient deposits in the south of China revealed that strong volcanic eruptions caused a volcanic winter, it led to a sharp global cooling. The results of the study are published in the journal Science Advances.
Mass Perm extinction has become the largest ecological catastrophe on Earth for the last 500 million years. As a result, 80-90 percent of land and marine animal species disappeared. Geological data indicate several possible reasons, including on trapping magmatism in Siberia, when a colossal amount of lava was poured onto the surface, which led to the appearance of an extensive region of volcanic rocks.
Scientists traditionally associate trapping magmatism with significant climate change. In the atmosphere, large amounts of carbon dioxide were included in the atmosphere, and this contributed to global warming and a decrease in the level of dissolved oxygen in sea water. Giant dead zones, deprived of oxygen and disastrous for many marine organisms occur.
In a new study, scientists analyzed breeds on mineral deposits, including copper and mercury, whose age coincides with the end of the Permian period. These breeds are characterized by the presence of anomalies in the chemical composition: an increased content of lung isotope Cu; inclusions enriched with copper and sulphides; as well as jumps from the concentration of mercury. This is probably due to volcanic sulfur emissions.
Atmospheric sulfuric acid aerosols could cause a sharp global cooling of several degrees, which was then changed by global warming. According to scientists, it confirms the fact that the trapping magmatism was not the only trigger of mass extinction.