As-yet-unknown feedbacks may start to kick in. As an example, submarine earthquakes and volcanos could add nutrients into the water that feed methane-producing (methanogenic) microbes. A recent study found that expansion of such microbes could have played a large role in the end-Permian extinction, and that it was catalyzed by increased availability of nickel associated with volcanism. Authors support their hypothesis with an analysis of carbon isotopic changes leading up to the extinction, phylogenetic analysis of methanogenic archaea, and measurements of nickel concentrations in South China sediments. From: Earthquakes in the Arctic Ocean arctic-news.blogspot/2014/04/earthquakes-in-the-arctic-ocean.html
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 09:27:57 +0000
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