From NYU:
New evidence that Siberian volcanic eruptions caused extinction 250 million yrs ago
A team of scientists has found new evidence that the Great Permian Extinction, which occurred approximately 250 million years ago, was caused by massive volcanic eruptions that led to significant environmental changes.
The study, which appears in the journal Scientific Reports, reports a global spike in the chemical element nickel at the time of extinction. The anomalous nickel most likely came from emanations related to the concurrent huge volcanic eruptions in what is now Siberia. These eruptions, the researchers say, are associated with nickel-rich magmatic intrusions — rocks formed from the cooling of magma — that contain some of the greatest deposits of nickel ore on the planet.
Using an Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer, which measures the abundance of rare elements at their atomic level, the scientists documented anomalous peaks of nickel in regions ranging from the Arctic to India at the time of the Great Permian Extinction — distributions that suggest these nickel anomalies were a worldwide phenomenon.
This new evidence of a nickel fingerprint at the time of the extinctions convinced the scientists that it was the volcanic upheaval in Siberia that produced intense global warming and other environmental changes that led to the disappearance of more than 90 percent of all species.
Amazon Deal: Save 54% on Etekcity Programmable Electrical Outlet, w/ Surge Protection 7 Day 20 Settings
“The Siberian volcanic eruptions and related massive intrusions of nickel-rich magmas into the Earth’s crust apparently emitted nickel-rich volatiles into the atmosphere, where they were distributed globally,” explains New York University geologist Michael Rampino, the paper’s senior author. “At the same time, explosive interactions of the magma with older coal deposits could have released large amounts of carbon dioxide and methane, two greenhouse gases, which would explain the intense global warming recorded in the oceans and on land at the time of the mass extinctions. The warm oceans also became sluggish and depleted in dissolved oxygen, contributing to the extinction of many forms of life in the sea”.
“This new finding, which contributes further evidence that the Siberian Trap eruptions were the catalyst for the most extensive extinction event Earth has ever endured, has exciting implications,” says Sedelia Rodriguez, a co-author of the paper and lecturer in the department of Environmental Science at Barnard College. “We look forward to expanding our research on nickel and other elements to delineate the specific areas affected by this eruption. In doing so, we hope to learn more about how these events trigger massive extinctions that affect both land and marine animals. Additionally, we hope this research will contribute to determining whether an event of this magnitude is possible in the future.”
###
Discover more from Watts Up With That?
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
I am not convinced. In geologic terms this is not recent by any means, but for a planet as old as Earth, it seems too convenient an explanation.
I wonder where people got this idea that the Siberian Traps erupted through coal seams? They didn’t, because there isn’t any. There is a lot of evaporites and some kerogen-rich shales and oil but no coal in the Tunguska basin. The large siberian coal deposits are further south in the Kuznetsk basin.
Now baking evaporites and shales will certainly produce some CO2 and CH4, but also lots of other much nastier stuff, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, halogenated hydrocarbons and so on. Mixed up with an unusually heavy-metal and volatile-rich magma….
Also the Siberian Traps is a very peculiar large magmatic province. Normally they conform to Kloos’ classical formula “Hebung, Spaltung, Vulkanismus” (rise, rift, erupt) and end up as a new ocean or at least a major failed rift system. The Siberian Traps erupted right through a major sedimentary basin with very little rifting and without forming a large highland bulge as ordinary large magmatic provinces do. And then it just went away without leaving a trace of a hotspot track.
Could it have been a case of antipodal magmatism to a major impact?
A reasonable question – is there any evidence of significant nickel vapourisationdeposition in other trap events apart from the Siberian event? Deccan traps for example? I don’t know the answer, but if the arguemeant is made that the Siberian traps are unique in this then I am less than convinced, especially if CO2 is worked into the equation for reasons of current fashionable thinkers no in climate science. Metal asteroids/meteorites with Nickel content constitute the biggest group of meteorites hitting the Earth, so I think this report needs to offer exceptional proof for a volcanic origin of the nickel.
The Permian extinction is so far back that it is difficult to be certain of anything and any contribution offering new light is interesting and welcome. But I strongly believe there is an inherent bias among Earth scientists against impacts despite the success of the KT theory, which still generates increasingly desperate attempts to downplay play it from some people.
Hear, Hear!
How do they know it was the Siberian eruptions not the ones that produced the Deccan Trapps in India?
Good question Roy.
…apart from the different eruption dates.
185 million years apart.
I view the level of experience and knowledge displayed here as “interesting”.
If one is at a skeet field
1) what is being sent across the field is Kevlar skinned but mushy target
2) you have a pellet gun to shoot at it.
What happens if you (miraculously) actually hit the Kevlar skinned slush ball?
Answer:
1) where you (miraculously) hit, there will be a rebounding depression
…may even “absorb” the pellet in some way, depending on how “firm” the pellet is.
2) 180 degrees (center hit) or weirder dimension, there will be an attempt at “bursting out”
and, of course, it does “interesting” things to the path, the spin, etc of the slush ball.
Now, apply that knowledge to this rigid surfaced marble we call earth and the multitude of objects flying hither and yon in the solar system at any point in time.
About once every couple million years a “big” gravel bag will hit and “stuff happens”.
Be “smart” not “rote”.
Just a bit of idle speculation
http://www.geocraft.com/WVFossils/PageMill_Images/image280.gif
Gondwanaland
“A team of scientists has found new evidence that the Great Permian Extinction, which occurred approximately 250 million years ago, was caused by massive volcanic eruptions that led to significant environmental changes.”
Why such massive volcanic eruptions would happen?
Large extraterrestrial impact?
For some time I thought that the large extraterrestrial impact must have left evidence which can be seen on the global gravity / geoid anomaly map
There are six likely locations of the presumed impacts, the most noticeable being at the India’s southern tip possibly causing break up of the Gondwanaland super-continent initiating the continental drift.
Read this:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1f5WH6CexxNogdGQajvjLk3x2uLiGHeVpAMFx5XfF3As/edit?usp=sharing (K-T Extinction)
thanks, see my comment further below
Cold extermination: One of greatest mass extinctions was due to an ice age and not to Earth’s warming.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170306091927.htm
tank you for the link. interesting article.
Due to the continental drift the Gondwanaland impact’s antipodal effect might not be readily identified.
However the Hudson bay impact may be far more recent and showing up as the positive anomaly in the New Guinea volcanically active area.