The 'easyJet ecoJet' would emit 50 percent less CO2 than today's newest ...
Monday August 29, 2005
More Images...
![]()
August 26, 2005
Shrimp Attacked by Blood-Suckers![]()
August 25, 2005
Light Bender
About 252 million years ago, more than 90 percent of all marine species and nearly three-quarters of all land species disappeared during what is known as the Permian Extinction, sometimes called the "Great Dying."
Using the Community Climate System Model (CCSM), scientists have created detailed simulations of the Earth's climate during this period of mass-extinction. Pictured above is a computer-simulated snapshot of global temperatures in Celsius during the Permian Extinction.
The model supports the theory that an abrupt and dramatic rise in atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide was responsible for the mass-extinction.
Based on the model, this is what scientists think happened:
Widespread volcanic activity spewed large amounts of carbon dioxide and sulfur into the atmosphere, raising Earth's temperatures in the higher latitudes by roughly 18F to 54F (10C to 30C).
The warming extended deep into the ocean waters, interfering with the circulation of oxygen and nutrients that naturally occurs when cold, dense water descends into the depths and heated water warmed by ocean vents rises to the surface.
As a result, the ocean waters became stagnant and marine life quickly died off. Without marine life to help remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, temperatures on land warmed excessively and oxygen levels plummeted.
From an initial 30 percent during the early Permian period, oxygen levels had dropped to about 16 percent by the time of the Great Dying and soon terrestrial species began dying as well.
The research was detailed in the September issue of the journal Geology.
--Ker Than
Amazing Images: Science & Nature Photos from Our Readers
Gasping for Air: Lack of Oxygen Worsened the 'Great Dying'
Global Warming Likely Cause of Worst Mass Extinction Ever
Volcanoes Snuffed Out Most Life 250 Million Years Ago
Credit: Courtesy Jeffrey Kiehl, NCAR
Most Popular
- Recommended
- Commented
From the Blogs

- LiveScience Blogs
-
- Can A Computer Simulation Solve The Mystery Of Dark Matter?
- Modern Gossip Magazine Culture Began With Celebrity Obituaries
- 12,000 Year Old Shaman Burial Site Discovered In Northern Israel - And It Was A Woman
- Learning About Lightning - Interferometer Records Discharge In Detail To The Microsecond
- India To The Moon: Chandrayaan-1 Settles Into Lunar Transfer Trajectory
- Those Dang Transcription Factors
- Pretty Women Make Men Shortsighted
- Can A Computer Simulation Solve The Mystery Of Dark Matter?
- 10.30.2008 | Leonard David
Private Moon Lander Group Teams with NASA
Keep an eye out for Odyssey Moon Ventures — one of the contenders in the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize competition — to announce they... ... - 10.25.2008 | Leonard David
Armadillo Scraps Further Lunar Lander Challenge Attempts
Update 7: The Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge is over for the day. John Carmack and his Armadillo Aerospace team have declared no more... ...
- 10.30.2008 | Leonard David






