According to the study, in the years before the asteroid hit the Deccan Traps, a volcanic province located in modern India emitted massive amounts of carbon dioxide. The concentration of carbon dioxide acidified the oceans, affecting the living organisms.
Benjamin Linzmeier, one of the researchers of the study, said the data on change in the environment before the asteroid impact correlates to the eruption in the Deccan Traps.
The researchers at Northwestern University are trying to gauge how the earth responded to the past extreme warning and carbon dioxide input to help understand how the planet will react to the current climate change, caused by human activities.
Andrew D Jacobson, senior author of the paper said, the Earth was clearly under stress before the major mass extinction event. The asteroid impact coincides with pre-existing carbon cycle instability. But that doesn’t mean we have answers to what actually caused the extinction.
The report would soon be published in the journal Geology later this month.
0 Comments