US, WASHINGTON (ORDO NEWS) — Experts have discovered another reason that could provoke a mass extinction on Earth. It may be associated with the burning of various kinds of substances that contain a huge amount of organic matter.
One of the probable causes of the Permian global extinction may be increased volcanic activity in Siberia. Siberian traps were very active about 252 million years ago.
During trap eruptions, a clear crater does not form. Also, it is not possible to detect a constant epicenter of eruptions. Lava spills from a huge number of cracks and floods territories that can be compared in size to modern Europe.
This, together with high air temperature, may have caused the extinction of 96% of all marine species and about 70% of terrestrial vertebrates that existed at that time.
All the causes found to date could act simultaneously. In addition, experts found evidence of another factor that could affect extinction. For a long time, scientists believed that due to global warming, the burning of coal and other materials rich in substances of organic origin could begin. But for a long time, experts could not find any evidence of this.
“The burning of these substances could lead to increased levels of carbon in the atmosphere. At the same time, carbon emissions during the magmatism of Siberian traps remain in question, ”said study author Lindsay Elkins-Tanton.
During the expedition, which took half a year, experts discovered almost half a ton of volcanic rocks of ancient eruptions. Most of them were found next to the Angara River. After analyzing the samples, small particles of coal and a burnt tree were found in them, which is the first evidence that they burned as a result of exposure to a stream of magma.
At the moment, research is ongoing and experts are confident that they will be able to find more evidence of their theory.
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