252 million years ago, our world went through a turbulent period of rapid global warming.
To find out why, scientists focused on studying volcanic eruptions in Siberia that released huge amounts of greenhouse gases into the Earth's atmosphere.
Rising temperatures and scientists puzzled
However, the scientists found that there was evidence that the Earth's climate was already undergoing fundamental changes that raised sea surface temperatures by 6 to 8 degrees Celsius in the hundreds of thousands of years before the volcanic flows in Siberia led to a new rise. temperature;
This caused the extinction of most species of living organisms, with a rate estimated by scientists between 85 and 95%.
Although the volcanic eruption in Siberia has left a lasting impact on the planet, scientists have been baffled by the causes of the preceding warming.
The mystery of that height was revealed by a study of geologists at the University of "New England" in Australia, published in the journal "Nature Geoscience", which showed that ancient volcanoes in Australia were the cause of the rise in temperature before the Siberian volcanic eruptions.
Several light-coloured layers of volcanic ash representing successive volcanic eruptions (Foreign Press)
Before the Siberian volcano erupted, catastrophic volcanic eruptions in northern New South Wales sent volcanic ash along the eastern coast.
Although these volcanic eruptions were so large that they triggered the world's largest climate disaster ever,
Its evidence is still buried deep in the thick volcanic deposits of Australia.
ancient volcanoes
As an article published by researchers on The Conversation website indicates, the study confirmed that the eastern region of Australia had been subjected to frequent "massive volcanic eruptions" 252-256 million years ago, and the interval between them was periods ranging between 51 and 145,000 years.
These eruptions differ from the massive volcanic eruptions in Siberia in that they are catastrophic;
It led to the release of huge amounts of ash and gases into the atmosphere, which caused global warming, which raised the Earth's temperature at a rate between 6 and 8 degrees.
The study found evidence of this in the light-colored layers of volcanic ash in sedimentary rocks, and these layers are found in large areas of New South Wales and Queensland all the way from Sydney to just before Townsville.
The eroded remains of volcanoes in the New England region of New South Wales (Foreign Press)
The study identified the source of this ash in the New England region in the state of New South Wales;
Where the remains of eroded volcanoes are still preserved.
Although erosion has removed much evidence, normal-looking rocks are our only record of these terrifying volcanic eruptions, with the thickness and distribution of the resulting ash consistent with the largest known eruptions to date.
How massive are these volcanic eruptions?
4 million years ago, the volcanoes in the state of New South Wales poured out about 150,000 cubic kilometers of lava and ash, and this makes it similar to the "Yellowstone" volcano in the United States, and Taupo in New Zealand in terms of size and impact.
To illustrate the comparison, the volcano Vesuvius that wiped out the Italian city of Pompeii in 79 AD;
Only 4 cubic kilometers of rock and ash spewed out, and the deadly Mount St. Helens eruption in 1980 was only 1 cubic kilometer of molten lava.
Successive volcanic eruptions covered the entire eastern coast in ash, and the resulting sediments were several meters thick in places, and of course the huge amounts of greenhouse gases that flowed from these eruptions led to a large-scale global climate change.
The volcano that wiped out the Italian city of Pompeii in 79 AD spewed 4 cubic kilometers of rocks and ash (Getty Images)
environmental destruction
Ancient sedimentary rocks provided a time frame for the environmental damage caused by volcanic eruptions.
Existing coal deposits in eastern Australia show that much of this area was covered by ancient forests.
After the massive volcanic eruptions, these forests vanished by a series of fires over a period of 500,000 years;
That was between 252 and 253 million years ago.
Plant matter usually accumulates in swamps and is then buried under sediment. The process of burial heat and pressure convert plant matter into charcoal.
After the forests vanished, there was no plant material to accumulate or buried, the ecosystem collapsed and most of the animals became extinct.
Subsequent volcanic eruptions in Siberia exacerbated the devastation wrought by Australian volcanoes.
The collapse of ecosystems was not limited to Australia, if these massive volcanic eruptions in Australia and other regions of the world were a major turning point in the catastrophe that struck all the ancient continents.