Many people are likely familiar with the age of the dinosaurs, which occurred 65 million years ago, a time when dinosaurs dominated the Earth. If it weren’t for the event of an asteroid colliding with Earth that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs, it is hard to say what the current state of life on Earth would be like.
Prehistoric giant creatures.
The emergence of any biological dominator is not random. The rise of the dinosaurs followed the third mass extinction event, also known as the Permian extinction. This was the most catastrophic extinction event in history, wiping out most life on Earth and nearly resetting the entire biosphere. Paleontologists estimate that over 90% of marine species and 70% of terrestrial species were completely eradicated.
However, this mass extinction paved the way for the emergence of dinosaurs. Why did dinosaurs rise after the third mass extinction? What significant changes occurred in Earth’s ecosystems during that time?
According to scientific research, an unprecedented major event occurred on Earth 234 million years ago, which not only triggered the third mass extinction but also led to the rise of the dinosaurs.
This rain led to the rise of the dinosaurs.
This event is referred to by scientists as the “Carnian Pluvial Episode.” Specifically, it was a continuous rainfall that lasted for 2 million years. Everyone is familiar with rain; each year, during the rainy season, there are varying levels of rainfall, particularly in Central Vietnam, where the rainy season often causes a series of floods. If rain lasts for many days, it greatly affects people’s lives, and if it persists for a month, it can result in a major disaster.
But 234 million years ago, nature produced a continuous rainfall that lasted for 2 million years. You can imagine what a horrific disaster that would be. At that time, floods were everywhere on Earth, and organisms that could not adapt to survive underwater essentially went extinct, while dinosaurs, which originated from aquatic creatures, were able to thrive rapidly after the mass extinction.
Some may wonder: How could such prolonged rainfall occur? In the natural ecological cycles of Earth, continuous rain for a month is very rare, let alone rain lasting for 2 million years. What exactly happened to Earth back then?
The cause of this rain could be volcanic eruptions in Alaska, North America.
Scientists have differing opinions on this long-term rainfall. After in-depth research, they suggest that the cause of this rain may have been volcanic eruptions in Alaska, North America. The lava flows extended for hundreds of miles, and continuous volcanic eruptions released various gases and dust into the atmosphere, resulting in increased carbon dioxide and decreased oxygen levels, leading to the extinction of many species.
Some argue that while magma from a supervolcano could cause climate change to a certain extent, they have never heard of a volcanic eruption that could also bring about prolonged rainfall. If it were just a volcanic eruption, it would not truly cause long-term rainfall globally. The lava would create a massive smoke column, covering the sky and plunging Earth into a mini ice age.
If that were the case, volcanic eruptions would not cause continuous rainfall. So why did a supervolcano eruption 234 million years ago lead to approximately 2 million years of rain? The fundamental reason is that the coal layer in the underground was destroyed by the lava, and a significant amount of coal was burned, triggering a series of chain reactions. Evidence shows that scientists have discovered very little coal remaining from the Triassic extinction period.
Scientists believe that the average temperature of Earth 234 million years ago was at least 6 degrees Celsius higher than today.
Once the coal layer ignited in large quantities, the global impact would be entirely different, with the most significant effect being a continuous rise in temperature. It is estimated that sea temperatures at that time reached at least around 40 degrees Celsius. Such high temperatures caused a massive amount of seawater to evaporate, with water vapor lingering in the atmosphere. Scientists believe that the average temperature of Earth 234 million years ago was at least 6 degrees Celsius higher than today. This high temperature persisted for approximately 10 million years.
The prolonged high temperatures turned much of the seawater into vapor; volcanoes do not last forever, and over time, the Earth’s heat would gradually decrease. At this point, the water vapor in the atmosphere began to fall, causing widespread rainfall. The water vapor that accumulated for tens of millions of years could not escape in a short time, resulting in 2 million years of prolonged rain. The acid rain promoted the emergence of large-scale tropical rainforests on land, similar to today’s Amazon rainforest, with the rainforest area nearly spreading to the North and South Poles.
When the rainy season ended, the increase in rainforests would provide more oxygen, and the oxygen levels on Earth would rise again, which was also a crucial condition for the emergence of dinosaurs. The increase in oxygen levels tended to produce larger organisms, such as the insects that dominated the “age of giant insects.”
During this period, massive mosquitoes existed, as long and thick as a human finger, insects could reach lengths of up to 1.55 meters, and giant tadpoles were 2.6 meters long. It was precisely because of the high oxygen levels on Earth at that time that small insects initially evolved into giant insects and dominated the planet.
The colossal rainforests created a perfect ecological environment for the existence of dinosaurs, allowing their numbers to spread across the globe and dominate the Earth.
Today, although there are no supervolcanoes erupting on Earth, the rise in global temperatures due to industrialization is becoming increasingly severe. If global temperatures rise to those of 234 million years ago, a massive amount of seawater would evaporate, and at that time, there would also be a significant amount of water vapor in Earth’s atmosphere.
If this happens, the prolonged rainfall that occurred 234 million years ago could also happen in the future, potentially leading to another mass extinction event. It is evident that the rise in global temperatures due to the greenhouse effect has consequences far beyond human imagination. The reason we still do not perceive the overwhelming effects and only feel unusual warming is primarily because the temperature increase has not yet exceeded a certain threshold.
