In a new study reported in Nature, climate scientist Rob DeConto of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and colleagues elsewhere propose a simple new mechanism to explain the source of carbon that fed a series of extreme warming events about 55 million years ago, the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), and a sequence of similar, smaller warming events afterward.
Tag Archives: Permian
Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum caused by thawing permafrost?
Mercury: a new culprit in end-Permian mass extinction event
Volcanic eruptions have already been appointed as the main culprit of the Permian-Triassic mass extinction. Previous research indicated that the resulting rise in atmospheric and oceanic carbon lead to the Great dying. But new findings in the journal Geology point to a … Continue reading
Fine-tuning the end-Permian mass extinction: 252,280,000 years ago carbon-triggered wildfires engulfed Pangaea
Ocean anoxia more likely consequence than cause of Permian-Triassic mass extinction
When it comes to explaining Earth’s mass extinctions some scientists point to space. They could be close – but perhaps should consider pointing to the sky instead.
Reefs took 1.5 million years to reappear after Permian-Triassic Mass Extinction
The Permian-Triassic Mass Extinction was the largest in our planet’s history. Enormous disruptions of the carbon cycle led to climate change, ocean acidification and ocean anoxia – and with an estimated 90 percent of all species dying out Earth almost … Continue reading
Permian-Triassic mass extinction: 11,000 Gt CO2 worth of climate change led to microbial plagues that killed the world’s forests
New research shows an example of a missing link between climatic disruptions and biodiversity decline: killer microbes.