Ancient eruption 'killed off world's sea life'
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A huge volcanic eruption in China some 260 million years ago led to the sudden extermination of marine life clear around the world, British paleontologists announced, in a report being published this week in the journal Science.
The researchers were able to pinpoint the exact timing of the massive eruption thanks to a layer of fossilized rock which showed mass extinction of different life forms -- clearly linking the volcanic blasts to a major environmental catastrophe.
"The abrupt extinction of marine life we can clearly see in the fossil record firmly links giant volcanic eruptions with global environmental catastrophe," said Paul Wignall, a professor and palaeontologist at the University of Leeds, who was the lead author of the research paper in the May 29 edition of Science.
The eruption in southwest China unleashed about a half million cubic kilometers of lava, covering an area five times the size of Wales, according to the research by scientists at the British university.
The mass extinction of ocean life came about because of the collision of fast flowing lava with shallow sea water, which caused a violent explosion at the start of the eruptions and threw huge quantities of sulphur dioxide into the stratosphere.
"When fast flowing, low viscosity magma meets shallow sea ... there's spectacular explosion producing gigantic clouds of steam," Wignall said.
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Originally posted by Chew Bakar:
A huge volcanic eruption in China some 260 million years ago led to the sudden extermination of marine life clear around the world, British paleontologists announced, in a report being published this week in the journal Science.
The researchers were able to pinpoint the exact timing of the massive eruption thanks to a layer of fossilized rock which showed mass extinction of different life forms -- clearly linking the volcanic blasts to a major environmental catastrophe.
"The abrupt extinction of marine life we can clearly see in the fossil record firmly links giant volcanic eruptions with global environmental catastrophe," said Paul Wignall, a professor and palaeontologist at the University of Leeds, who was the lead author of the research paper in the May 29 edition of Science.
The eruption in southwest China unleashed about a half million cubic kilometers of lava, covering an area five times the size of Wales, according to the research by scientists at the British university.
The mass extinction of ocean life came about because of the collision of fast flowing lava with shallow sea water, which caused a violent explosion at the start of the eruptions and threw huge quantities of sulphur dioxide into the stratosphere.
"When fast flowing, low viscosity magma meets shallow sea ... there's spectacular explosion producing gigantic clouds of steam," Wignall said.
there's this term in anthropology called "population bottleneck", which is when the majority of a species or group dies off, the remaining small population which survived through the ordeal, will reproduce again
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Originally posted by Bangulzai:
there's this term in anthropology called "population bottleneck", which is when the majority of a species or group dies off, the remaining small population which survived through the ordeal, will reproduce again
Recent underwater volcano erupted off Tonga. I think the magnitude of the above mentioned eruptions might have been major ones to reckon such effect.
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Originally posted by Chew Bakar:
Recent underwater volcano erupted off Tonga. I think the magnitude of the above mentioned eruptions might have been major ones to reckon such effect.
aha, good that you know about the Tonga underwater volcano eruption. I didn't know, coz I didn't follow
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Originally posted by Bangulzai:
aha, good that you know about the Tonga underwater volcano eruption. I didn't know, coz I didn't follow
About 3 month ago. Just 40km off Nuku'alofa the capital of Tonga.
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Originally posted by Chew Bakar:
About 3 month ago. Just 40km off Nuku'alofa the capital of Tonga.
your above article says southwestern China is near a shallow sea. i find it puzzling as to where is there any sea or even ocean near southwestern China. if you do know, you can enlighten me
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Originally posted by Bangulzai:
your above article says southwestern China is near a shallow sea. i find it puzzling as to where is there any sea or even ocean near southwestern China. if you do know, you can enlighten me
It have to do with the closing up of the shallow Tethys Sea when India (Deccan Pleateau) broke off from southern Gondwanaland and merge with northern Laurasia. (All these are under plate tectonics movement). The volcanic activities mentioned should have been the present Himalayas. Hence there are many marine fossils high up in the Himalaya.
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Originally posted by Chew Bakar:
It have to do with the closing up of the shallow Tethys Sea when India (Deccan Pleateau) broke off from southern Gondwanaland and merge with northern Laurasia. (All these are under plate tectonics movement). The volcanic activities mentioned should have been the present Himalayas. Hence there are many marine fossils high up in the Himalaya.
ya hor!
all these actually I know one!
i forgot all abt it liao, especially when the above article did not explicitly mention so, and so i did not relate to the geography of 260 million years ago !
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Originally posted by Bangulzai:
ya hor!
all these actually I know one!
i forgot all abt it liao, especially when the above article did not explicitly mention so, and so i did not relate to the geography of 260 million years ago !
Good good.
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Originally posted by Chew Bakar:
Good good.
it was said (in article i read) that Himalaya has salt deposits
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Wow.. the impact...
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a way to oso check whether there was mass extinction is by examining population bottlenecks through analysis of y-chromosomes or mitochondrial dna