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Article: Global Warming Led to Atmospheric Hydrogen Sulfide
- Article from:
- Sea Technology
- Article date:
- April 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright Compass Publications, Inc. Apr 2005. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Volcanic eruptions in Siberia 251 million years ago may have started a cascade of events leading to high hydrogen sulfide levels in the oceans and atmosphere, and precipitating the largest mass extinction in Earth's history, according to a Pennsylvania State University geoscientist.
"The recent dating of the Siberian trap volcanoes to be contemporaneous with the end-Permian extinction suggests that they were the trigger for the environmental events that caused the extinctions," said Lee R. Kump, professor of geosciences.
In the depths of the Black Sea today, hydrogen sulfide exists at about 200 parts per million. Kump maintains that this is a toxic brew in which any aerobic, oxygen-needing ...