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The cause of massive volcanic events that occurred millions of years ago resulted in some of the most catastrophic extinction events in the history of planet Earth.
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Nationalgeographic.co.id—Scientists explained the timing and possible causes of the events volcanic which happened millions of years ago. This event caused such a climatic and biological upheaval. Therefore, they fueled some of the most catastrophic extinction events in history planet Land.
A surprisingly new research, published on 9 September in the magazine Science advances, suggesting that slowing the movement of continental plates was a key event that allowed magma to rise to the Earth’s surface. It also had an impact to knock very devastating. The card they gave the title Timing controlled by reduced plate movement of volcanism of the great igneous province of the Jurassic Karoo-Ferrar.
The history of the Earth has been marked by great volcanic events, called Great igneous provinces (LIP). Where the largest has led to a sharp increase in emissions carbon atmosphere that warms the climate of the planet Earth. It is also driving unprecedented changes in ecosystems and as a result mass extinction on land and sea.
An international team of researchers used chemical data from ancient mud deposits obtained from a 1.5km deep well in Wales. Those led by scientists from Trinity College Dublin’s School of Natural Sciences were able to link two important events from around 183 million years ago (the Toarcian period).
The team found that this time period featured some of the most severe climate and environmental changes ever seen. This directly coincides with the occurrence of large volcanic activity and the associated release of greenhouse gases in the Southern Hemisphere. In what is now known as Southern Africa, Antarctica and Australia.
Trinity College Dublin
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Patterns linking the decreasing velocity of the African continental plate with increasing thermal erosion of the mantle and crust, leading to the positioning of the great igneous province (LIP) of Karoo-Ferrar in southern Pangea 183 million years ago.
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Upon further investigation – and more importantly – the team’s plate reconstruction model helped them uncover key fundamental geological processes that appear to control the timing and initiation of these and other very large volcanic events.
“Scientists have long thought that the upwelling of molten volcanic rock, or magma, from within the Earth in the form of mantle plumes, was the engine of this volcanic activity. But new evidence suggests that the normal speed of movement of the plates continents several times per centimeter per year effectively prevents magma from penetrating the Earth’s continental crust, ”said Micha Ruhl, assistant professor at Trinity School of Natural Sciences, who led the team.
“It appears that only when the speed of the continental plate’s movement slows near zero can magma from the mantle effectively reach the surface. Thus causing major provincial volcanic eruptions and associated climatic perturbations and mass extinctions, “he added.
Ruhl further states: “Importantly, further evaluation suggests that the reduced movement of continental plates likely controlled the onset and duration of many major volcanic events throughout the history of planet Earth. Making it a fundamental process in controlling the evolution of climate and life on the earth’s surface throughout the history of the planet “.
Studying past events of global change, such as those of the Toarcian, allows scientists to decipher the processes that control the causes and consequences of changes in the global carbon cycle. It limits the fundamental processes of the earth system that control tipping points in the earth’s climate system.
This research was conducted as part of the Early Jurassic Earth System and Timescale (JET) project of the International Continental Drilling Program (ICDP) and was financially supported by the SFI Research Center in Applied Geosciences (iCRAG), Natural Environment Research Council UK ( NERC), National Science Foundation China and the EU Horizon 2020 program.
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