A publication in a scientific journal reveals that the breakup of a supercontinent and a mass extinction were caused by the same “culprit.”
According to Sci-News, a new study led by the National Academy of Sciences of the United States has unveiled the mystery surrounding the mass extinction event at the end of the Triassic period, which occurred nearly 201.6 million years ago and led to the extinction of 76% of Earth’s species.
This was a horrific massacre that took place both underwater and on land. Notably, it coincided with the splitting of the supercontinent Pangaea.
A series of catastrophic events occurred on Earth at the end of the Triassic period – (Illustration AI: ANH THƯ).
The article published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicates that the breakup of the supercontinent and the mass extinction were caused by the same “culprit.”
As previous studies have shown, this ancient supercontinent was divided by millions of cubic kilometers of lava that erupted over approximately 600,000 years, separating at the ancient boundaries of what are now the Americas, Europe, and North Africa.
The new research reveals that this event was even more catastrophic: The authors provide evidence that instead of spanning hundreds of thousands of years, all of these eruptions were confined to just one century.
Within this condensed timeframe, sulfate particles reflecting sunlight were expelled into the atmosphere, cooling the Earth and freezing many of its inhabitants, a phenomenon known as the “devastating volcanic winter.”
Previously, Earth was extremely hot, with carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere three times higher than today.
Afterward, temperatures quickly rose again, returning to a terrifying hot state, completing the final phase of the disaster chain.
Dr. Dennis Kent from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (USA), a co-author of the study, stated that geological evidence of this event has been found in various locations in Morocco and the United States.
In the sediments just below the layer preserving evidence from this disaster, scientists also discovered many unusual fossils from the Triassic period.
These included relatives of large land and semi-aquatic crocodiles, strange tree lizards, giant flat-headed amphibians, and many tropical plant species.
They were the victims of the mass extinction at the end of the Triassic period.
Small feathered dinosaurs that had existed for tens of millions of years prior survived, thrived, and grew significantly larger in the subsequent Jurassic period, alongside turtles, lizards, and mammals.
It is possible that their small size allowed them to hide in burrows and survive the harsh temperature changes.
