El Niño, volcanoes caused mass extinction on Earth millions of years ago
New research suggests that a powerful El Niño cycle fueled by massive carbon dioxide emissions may have contributed to the largest mass extinction on Earth around 250 million years ago, at the end of the Permian. Volcanic eruptions in what is now Siberia released massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, resulting in dramatic climate shifts. These shifts led to the extinction of 90 percent of the Earth’s species. Although past events like this are rare, they have serious implications for the current climate crisis.
Impact of volcanic eruptions in Siberia
The eruption of the Siberian Traps, a series of huge volcanic rifts, released huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This phenomenon caused extreme global warming, leading to a series of long-lasting and severe El Niño events.
Alex Farnsworth told Live Science, a paleoclimate modeler at the University of Bristol, saw temperatures rise far beyond the limits to which life had adapted for thousands of years during this period, pushing species beyond their limits. On land, forests that helped absorb carbon dioxide were destroyed, exacerbating the atmospheric crisis.
How Climate Change Affects Oceans and Land
The lead author of the studyYadong Sun, an earth scientist at the China University of Geosciences, found that the temperature gradient between the western and eastern parts of Panthalassa, an ancient ocean, weakened during the warming period. The ocean became too warm for most marine life to survive, especially when tropical waters reached temperatures of 40°C. On land, animals dependent on forests struggled to survive, as extreme heat and loss of vegetation created a feedback loop that worsened conditions for survival.
Modern implications
Although carbon dioxide levels during the Permian were much higher than today’s 419 ppm, the rapid rate at which humans are adding carbon to the atmosphere could potentially lead to similar destabilizing effects.
