Washington – According to a new research, it is close to about 252 million years since the occurrence of the “Great Dying” which was caused by ocean acidification and volcanic activity. This was the most devastating mass extinction event in history that took place at the end of the Permian period.
Oceans on Earth engaged enormous quantities of carbon dioxide from volcanic eruptions rubbing out close to 90 per cent of aquatic species and more than two-thirds of land animals. The eruptions changed the chemical composition of the oceans which made them more acidic bringing forth catastrophic consequences for life on the planet.
The study has it that the volume of carbon that would have been added to the atmosphere to activate the mass extinction would have been much more than today’s fossil fuel reserves. However, the release rate of the carbon can be compared to that of modern emissions which is considered an important factor driving the ocean acidification.
It took the analyses of rocks unearthed in the United Arab Emirates to develop a climate model that would work out what drove the extinction. Researchers say that Acidification of the oceans persisted for around 10,000 years with the Permian-Triassic Boundary extinction taking place over a 60,000 year period.
According to Matthew Clarkson, the study’s arranger, these findings are a bit worrying. They have resulted to the accruing of today’s oceans’ acidity because of human-caused carbon emissions.
Never the less, the good news is that, humans may not be able to manufacture the overall volume of carbon emissions as good as that manufactured by the good Dying.
The deadliest phase of the extinction gave a final blow to an already unstable ecosystem with the Ocean acidification being the driving force. The environment was out under pressure by the increased temperatures and widespread loss of oxygen.
However, there is no real evidence as yet that the ocean acidification event occurred during the greatest mass extinction of all time