Geologists from the University of Syracuse in the United States have uncovered the cause of the massive Permian extinction that occurred about 252 million years ago. According to their conclusions, the outpouring of huge volumes of magma in Siberia led to the death of many species. These geological processes caused climate changes and the transition from the Paleozoic era to the Mesozoic. An article by scientists was published in the journal Nature Communications, briefly described in a press release on the EurekAlert! Website.
Outpouring of magma in Siberia has affected large areas. As a result, traps were formed - geological formations consisting of basalt and sedimentary layers. The latter are easily destroyed during erosion, as a result, the terrain takes the form of plains, separated by ledges. The traps occupy an area of about two million square kilometers and are developed throughout the East Siberian platform.
According to geological data, the largest mass extinction of living organisms on Earth, known as the Great Dying, occurred simultaneously with the eruption of rocks. As a result, 96 percent of marine species, 73 percent of terrestrial vertebrates, and 83 percent of insect species have disappeared. According to scientists, the depletion of biological diversity lasted 60 thousand years.
American scientists have studied the geological and chemical composition of traps. The researchers concluded that the erupting magma was affecting the hydrocarbon-rich deposits. As a result, greenhouse gases were released into the atmosphere, which, in turn, caused climate change.