UV-B radiation was the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary terrestrial extinction kill mechanism
| Autor: | Jon A. Lakin, John E. A. Marshall, Ian Troth, Sarah M. Wallace-Johnson |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
Extinction event
010506 paleontology geography Multidisciplinary Ozone geography.geographical_feature_category SciAdv r-articles Paleontology 010502 geochemistry & geophysics Atmospheric sciences 01 natural sciences Devonian chemistry.chemical_compound chemistry Volcano Carboniferous Ozone layer Ice age Environmental science Glacial period Research Articles Research Article 0105 earth and related environmental sciences |
| Zdroj: | Science Advances |
| ISSN: | 2375-2548 |
| DOI: | 10.1126/sciadv.aba0768 |
| Popis: | A brief UV-B burst, during a climatic warming interval, collapsed the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary terrestrial ecosystem. There is an unexplained terrestrial mass extinction at the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary (359 million years ago). The discovery in east Greenland of malformed land plant spores demonstrates that the extinction was coincident with elevated UV-B radiation demonstrating ozone layer reduction. Mercury data through the extinction level prove that, unlike other mass extinctions, there were no planetary scale volcanic eruptions. Importantly, the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary terrestrial mass extinction was coincident with a major climatic warming that ended the intense final glacial cycle of the latest Devonian ice age. A mechanism for ozone layer reduction during rapid warming is increased convective transport of ClO. Hence, ozone loss during rapid warming is an inherent Earth system process with the unavoidable conclusion that we should be alert for such an eventuality in the future warming world. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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