An ancient underwater event wiped out more than 90% of life – and it wasn’t a tsunami

[Dead2009]

How an ancient underwater event wiped out more than 90% of life on Earth

It's one that is happening today too.

metro.co.uk

You’re probably thinking it was a tsunami, a devastating natural disaster that can cause huge numbers of people to die.

But this ancient event – known as the Great Dying – was so catastrophic it was more deadly than the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs, researchers say.

It’s widely believed the Earth suffered a sudden warning caused by carbon dioxide released by volcanic activity in a region known as the Siberian Traps.

Emissions in the area, which is now Russia and was once the size of Australia, resulted in higher temperatures, acid rain and ocean acidification, causing the ocean to become low in oxygen, killing off marine creatures.

But according to a new research paper, another event could have played a pivotal role.

In their published paper in the journal Science, researchers from the University of Bristol and China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) say that these mega El Niños caused wild swings in the climate, killing off forests and many land animals.

El Niño is widely used to describe the warming of sea surface temperature that occurs every few years, typically concentrated in the central-east equatorial Pacific

Professor Paul Wignall from Leeds’ School of Earth and Environment said: ‘During the Permian-Triassic crisis, El Niño persisted for much longer resulting in a decade of widespread drought, followed by years of flooding.

‘Basically, the climate was all over the place and that makes it very hard for any species to adapt.’

Co-lead author Dr Alexander Farnsworth, from the University of Bristol, added: ‘Climate warming alone cannot drive such devastating extinctions because, as we are seeing today, when the tropics become too hot, species migrate to the cooler, higher latitudes.

‘Our research has revealed that increased greenhouse gases don’t just make the majority of the planet warmer, they also increase weather and climate variability making it even more “wild” and difficult for life to survive.’