Earth Was In Stress Before Extinction Of Dinosaurs

New evidence has gleaned from the Antarctic seashells which have confirmed that our Earth was already very unstable before the asteroids have impacted that has wiped out the dinosaurs.

The study that was led by researchers at Northwestern University is noted as the first ever for measuring the calcium isotopes composition of the fossilized clam and also snail shells, which all have dated back to the mass extinction event of Cretaceous-Paleogene. The researchers have also found that during the run-up of the extinction event -- these shells' chemistry has shifted in response of a surge of carbon in the large oceans.

This carbon influx was further likely due for long-term eruptions that came from the Deccan Traps, 200,000-square-mile volcanic provinces that were located in modern India. During these years leading up to the asteroid impacts, the Deccan Traps have spewed massive amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) that went into the atmosphere. The concentration of CO2 has also acidified the oceans that were directly affecting the organisms living there.

Benjamin Linzmeier who is the study's first author has said that their data has suggested that the environment was continuously changing before the asteroid impact, he further added that those changes have appeared for correlating with the eruptions of the Deccan Traps.

Andrew D. Jacobson, a senior author of the paper has said that the Earth was clearly under some stress before the major event of mass extinction.

By: Prerana Sharma

Content: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/12/191211145632.htm