It Took Earth Ten Million Years to Recover from Greatest Mass Extinction

ScienceDaily ^ | May 27, 2012 | University of Bristol

[SunkenCiv]

It took some 10 million years for Earth to recover from the greatest mass extinction of all time, latest research has revealed.

Life was nearly wiped out 250 million years ago, with only 10 per cent of plants and animals surviving. It is currently much debated how life recovered from this cataclysm, whether quickly or slowly.

Recent evidence for a rapid bounce-back is evaluated in a new review article by Dr Zhong-Qiang Chen, from the China University of Geosciences in Wuhan, and Professor Michael Benton from the University of Bristol. They find that recovery from the crisis lasted some 10 million years, as explained May 27 in Nature Geoscience.

There were apparently two reasons for the delay, the sheer intensity of the crisis, and continuing grim conditions on Earth after the first wave of extinction.

The end-Permian crisis, by far the most dramatic biological crisis to affect life on Earth, was triggered by a number of physical environmental shocks -- global warming, acid rain, ocean acidification and ocean anoxia. These were enough to kill off 90 per cent of living things on land and in the sea.

Dr Chen said: "It is hard to imagine how so much of life could have been killed, but there is no doubt from some of the fantastic rock sections in China and elsewhere round the world that this was the biggest crisis ever faced by life."

Current research shows that the grim conditions continued in bursts for some five to six million years after the initial crisis, with repeated carbon and oxygen crises, warming and other ill effects.

[albionin]

Thanks ever so much. Off to have a nervous breakdown. La la la la la can’t here you.

[wolfcreek]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izQB2-Kmiic&feature=player_detailpage

...if man is still alive...

[Condor51]

*** Thanks ever so much. Off to have a nervous breakdown. La la la la la can’t here you. ***

LOL. The last sentence is prolly the best action for us to take.

But one thing is kinda ironic. Last night 'The Universe' series was on the H2 Channel and an Astrophysicist (a Black gent, really cool guy who explains Physics in plain English) was on a segment talking about our Brightest neighbor, the star Betelgeuse.

And... well... the news wasn't exactly good but not 100% bad -- kinda a coin flip. But either way, I wouldn't click the linked article before bedtime :-)