Volcanic eruptions wiped out ocean life 93 million years ago
- added July 21, 2008
- 17 responses
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- Octoguy
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University of Alberta scientists contend they have the answer to mass extinction of animals and plants 93 million years ago. The answer, research has uncovered, has been found at the bottom of the sea floor where lava fountains erupted, altering the chemistry of the sea and possibly of the atmosphere.
Undersea volcanic activity triggered a mass extinction of marine life and buried a thick mat of organic matter on the sea floor about 93 million years ago, which became a major source of oil, according to a new study.
"It certainly caused an extinction of several species in the marine environment," said University of Alberta Earth and Atmospheric Science researcher Steven Turgeon. "It wasn't as big as what killed off the dinosaurs, but it was what we call an extreme event in the Earth's history, something that doesn't happen very often."
U of A scientists Turgeon and Robert Creaser say the lava fountains that erupted altered the chemistry of the sea and possibly of the atmosphere.
"Of the big five mass extinctions in the Earth's history, most of them were some kind of impact with the planet's surface," said Turgeon. "This one is completely Earth-bound, it's strictly a natural phenomenon."
Turgeon and Creaser found specific isotope levels of the element osmium, an indicator of volcanism in seawater, in black shale-rocks containing high amounts of organic matter-drilled off the coast of South America and in the mountains of central Italy.
Undersea volcanic activity triggered a mass extinction of marine life and buried a thick mat of organic matter on the sea floor about 93 million years ago, which became a major source of oil, according to a new study.
"It certainly caused an extinction of several species in the marine environment," said University of Alberta Earth and Atmospheric Science researcher Steven Turgeon. "It wasn't as big as what killed off the dinosaurs, but it was what we call an extreme event in the Earth's history, something that doesn't happen very often."
U of A scientists Turgeon and Robert Creaser say the lava fountains that erupted altered the chemistry of the sea and possibly of the atmosphere.
"Of the big five mass extinctions in the Earth's history, most of them were some kind of impact with the planet's surface," said Turgeon. "This one is completely Earth-bound, it's strictly a natural phenomenon."
Turgeon and Creaser found specific isotope levels of the element osmium, an indicator of volcanism in seawater, in black shale-rocks containing high amounts of organic matter-drilled off the coast of South America and in the mountains of central Italy.
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Nice
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isnt this scientology based?
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And now we're trying to do it ourselves! Man just loves imitating nature.
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- majormajor
- 2 months ago
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this just leaves me with more questions than answers, I need more information...
more sources-
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- jade_azul16
- 2 months ago
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I can't wait to see the show on the Discovery channel.
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I posted this already, but hey it's an interesting story so all power to you. This gigantic volcanic eruption created what is now the seafloor of the caribbean, pretty cool.
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But why is the picture of a land volcano, when this eruption was under the sea?
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Perhaps, Planet Earth is preparing to replenish it's oil supply, whether we like it or not.
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Makes you kind of well up, doesn't it, that we might be some future species warred-over oil source. And vanishing overnight? That might just be a trick played on the most narcissistic species to walk the earth. It'd be funny if we weren't so integral afterall. Or maybe that's just the ordinary arc of beauty...we live, we die.
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I like this 'arc of beauty' idea...and i also agree that if all of that oil supply is used in our cars, whats stopping the Earth from refilling the tanks. We put oil in our cars to keep the engines from overheating. Makes you wonder how the Earths molten core is kept from overheating. And if the core over heats, does that qualify as global warming?
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- thewarnerla
- 2 months ago
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Is it a stupid question to wonder if the water boiled around the volcano when it erupted...
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If you want t knw if it did then look at pictures of the present day underwater volcanoes at mid-ocean ridges!
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Yet the creationists stay silent. Good for them.
This is just one more reminder as to how pathetically insignificant the human race is compared to the awesome power of the cosmos. Can you imagine our entire civilization being wiped out literally overnight? Really puts things in perspective for you. -
How can they tell these thing have happened so many millions of years ago with solid evidence? The earth would of changed so much in that time that they can only make gueses.
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