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Whether threatens life on Earth new extinction due to ocean acidification
The team of scientists from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland proposed a new hypothesis about the causes mass extinction of life on Earth at the end of the Permian period. According to them, the reason for this was the significant закисление Oceans .
Around 252 million years ago on our home planet occurred биологическая disaster incredible proportions - died 96% of marine species and 70% of the creatures vertebrate species. Even 83% of insect species have not escaped death - this is the only known case of a mass extinction of these hardy creatures. In geological terms it happened very quickly - about 60 thousand years.
Naturally, scientists have suggested many hypotheses extinction. Some accuse extremely strong volcanic eruptions Сибирских traps (from the Swedish trappa - staircase) - a form of taking deposits to pour out of the magma. Their eruption took place at the same time the extinction of species. Others talk about the possible fall of large meteorites or asteroid collision with Earth's diameter of several tens of kilometers.
Also considered as causes sudden release of methane from the seabed and the acquisition of archaea ability to recycle organic matter with the release of large amounts of methane. Any of these factors could lead to the greenhouse effect and other catastrophic climate change.
Researchers from Edinburgh conducted geochemical and geological work together with the simulation, presented to the extinction of their model. In their view, the first phase of the eruption of the Siberian Traps was that launched the extinction of terrestrial species. But the second phase has ocean acidification due to the large amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Because of this primitive ocean fauna began to die, and as a result the entire food chain has been broken.
Dr. Rachel Wood, a university professor and one of the authors, высказывает fears , that this disaster could happen again today. Although the quantity of emissions of carbon dioxide during the eruption of the Siberian Traps were much larger than those produced by human activities, the speed of their arrival in the atmosphere is quite comparable. As a result, according to scientists, humanity violate ecological balance.
The ocean absorbs CO 2 sub> from the air to form carbonic acid, and then appear in the water and hydronium ions hydrogencarbonates. The acidity of the water increases. From 1751 to 1994 ocean pH decreased from 8.25 to 8.14. And that, according to some observers, has already begun to affect marine life. For example, now in the newborn sea snails, which are called & quot; sea butterflies & quot ;, shell dissolves in water.
In 2013, oceanographers have released the report "State of the Oceans", in which it was noted that currently the acidification of the oceans faster than at any other time over 300 million. Years. These warnings make us think about what we do and how our actions are expensive cost of our own planet.
Source: geektimes.ru/post/248838/
