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Global Anoxia Ruled Out As Main Culprit In the P-T Extinction

Posted by timothy on from the take-a-deep-breath-and-relax dept.

Garin writes "The late Permian saw the greatest mass extinction event of all-time. The causes for this extinction are hotly debated, but one key piece of the puzzle has recently been revealed: while the deep-water environments were anoxic, shallower waters showed clear signs of being oxygenated. This rules out global anoxia, and strongly suggests that other factors, such as the Siberian Traps vulcanism, must have played a dominant role. From the article: 'Rather than the direct cause of global extinction, anoxia may be more a contributing factor along with numerous other impacts associated with Siberian Traps eruption and other perturbations to the Earth system.' See the full research article (behind a paywall) here."

6 of 158 comments (clear)

  1. Siberian Traps by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    To this day, we're all still very wary of Siberian Traps.

  2. A Breathtaking Report!! by NEDHead · · Score: 4, Funny

    or not...

    1. Re:A Breathtaking Report!! by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 3, Funny

      or not...

      It turns out that the reports of anoxia in the Permian were actually full of hot air.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
  3. Damn Vulcans! by antifoidulus · · Score: 3, Funny

    I knew Dr. Spock was the one that killed the dinosaurs, "Captain, these giant bird-lizards are highly illogical and must be disposed of."

    --
    Monstar L
    1. Re:Damn Vulcans! by Hognoxious · · Score: 5, Funny

      Dr. Spock was the one that killed the dinosaurs

      Over-zealous potty training can be lethal.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  4. Re:Anoxia misread by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 4, Funny

    I read anoxia as anorexia.

    90% of all species died... but they were looking very stylish right up to that point...

    --
    You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office