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Kilauea volcano lava in Hawaii made its appearance on July 14, 2018. Scientists claim that mercury contained in ancient rocks indicates that volcanic activity is at the root of the greatest mass extinction of the Earth 250 million years ago.
(US Geological Survey via AP, File)
- Researchers analyzed mercury in ancient rocks to track volcanic activity.
- The extinction of the Permian, or the "great dying", was the greatest extinction event of the Earth.
- Scientists say research could predict the future disastrous effects of global warming.
Mercury buried in ancient rocks provides the strongest evidence to date that volcanic eruptions have caused the deadliest mass extinction of Earth. This event occurred about 250 million years ago and was so catastrophic that scientists call it "big murder".
In a research article published this month in the journal Nature Communications, paleontologists from the University of Geosciences of China and the University of Cincinnati analyzed mercury levels. in 391 marine sediment samples collected from 10 sites around the world. The samples date back to what is called the Permian-Triassic boundary, the period during which scientists say that the great death occurred.
The samples had mercury concentrations above normal, supporting the hypothesis that volcanic eruptions are the cause of the event, known officially as the extinction of the Triassic of the Permian.
"Volcanic activities, including volcanic gas emissions and the burning of organic matter, have released mercury in abundance on the surface of the Earth, "said senior author Jun Shen, associate professor at the China University of Geosciences, according to an article from the University of Cincinnati.
The Great Dying is thought to have killed 95% of life on the planet and happened even before dinosaurs roamed the Earth. This is one of five mass extinctions documented in the history of the Earth.
Scientists had already determined the eruptions it's produced in a volcanic system called the Siberian traps in present-day central Russia. The violent eruptions occurred for hundreds of thousands of years and released large amounts of mercury into the air, which then spilled into marine sediments, according to the University of Cincinnati report.
Thomas Algeo, professor of geology at the University of Cincinnati and co-author of the study, caused a global warming that resulted in an increase in the average temperature of the Earth up to 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Algeo said that rising temperatures, associated with acid rain rashes, are the most likely causes of mass extinction.
"We are often left wondering what was the most harmful," quotes Algeo in an article from the University of Cincinnati. "Creatures adapted to colder environments would not have been lucky, so I guess the temperature change is not a killer, the effects would be exacerbated by acidification and other toxins in the environment."
Shen said in his report that the extinction of the Permian Triassic could be an alarming sign of the impact of global warming.
"The release of carbon into the atmosphere by humans is similar to the situation in the upper Permian, where the abundance of carbon had been released by Siberian eruptions," he said.
Algeo adds his concern.
"A majority of biologists think we are at the dawn of another massive extinction – the big sixth – I share that view too," he said. "What we should learn is that it will be a serious matter that will hurt the human interest, so we must strive to minimize the damage."
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