Mass Extinction Due to Release of Methane

Release of methane from the ocean into the atmosphere about 201 million years ago to cause a mass extinction of species inhabitants of the earth in those days. Extinction is paving the way for the era of giant lizards.

Palaeoecology experts from Utrecht University, Micha Ruhl, along with several colleagues to explore layers of sediment at the height of the Alps, Austria. Hundreds of years ago, this location is the edge of an ancient ocean called the Tethys Ocean, which is now the Mediterranean Sea. The excavation aims to trace concentrations of certain chemical elements at the edge of the abandoned plants Ocean Thetys. During his life, this plant is breathing by inhaling the primitive atmosphere. A small part of the atmosphere settles in the body with a certain concentration. Weathered sediment elements by plants is a historical record to be opened by the Ruhl. When studying the sediment samples in the laboratory, Ruhl find important notes. Isotope carbon-12 increased rapidly in the period 20-40 thousand years. "The shift of this isotope ratios derived from the contribution of methane, not carbon dioxide," said Ruhl. Typically, methane that escapes from the bottom of the ocean bound by bacteria. But global warming lead to methane released into the atmosphere. At the same time, large eruptions in the Central Atlantic magmatic Province (CAMP) is underway. Molten magma which flooded the area that is now located at the base of the northern Atlantic Ocean. Magma is the release of greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and other aerosols, so the start of global climate change and trigger the release of methane. Paleobiology expert from Brown University, Jessica Whiteside, said the combination of flooding and the release of methane magma makes the Earth's temperature to rise sharply. "Once the heat of the earth when it so there is a crocodile around the Arctic and palm plants live in the Arctic," said Whiteside.*** [ANTON WILLIAM | KORAN TEMPO 3601]