(ORDO NEWS) — About 250 million years ago, one of the largest global extinctions occurred on Earth, which occurred due to the volcanic activity of the Siberian mountains. At that time, volcanoes in large volumes emitted greenhouse gases into the planet’s atmosphere. For this reason, a dramatic climate change has occurred, which has killed about 80 percent of marine life, as well as many land animals.
Previously, scientists could not associate a high mortality rate with an increase in the average ambient temperature. Recent scientific work by American scientists sheds light on this process.
The team of scientists came to the conclusion that as the temperature rises, the activity of microorganisms in the earth’s crust increases. As one of the authors of the study explained, the microbes first depleted the oxygen reserves in the water, and then moved to land.
The fact is that microorganisms took sulfates from the atmosphere, and exhaled hydrogen sulfide, which is poisonous to living beings. In addition, it has an unpleasant smell, similar to the smell of rotten eggs. For this reason, the volume of oxygen became less, as hydrogen sulfide displaced it.
As a result, the circle closed, which led to a mass extinction on Earth. Scientists believe that this is not the only nuance in this story.
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