Earth's biggest mass extinction 'caused by Siberian volcanoes' 250 million years ago'

[n2doc]

Earth’s largest ever extinction ever may have been caused by massive volcanic eruptions in Siberia, according to new research.

Around 95 per cent of marine life and 70 per cent of life on land was wiped out in “The Great Dying” about 252 million years ago

The new study published in the Scientific Reports journal, claims the extinction was triggered by the release of more than 200 billion gallons of molten lava over a stretch of land called the Siberian Traps.

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http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/the-great-dying-earth-biggest-mass-extinction-siberia-volcanoes-russia-nickel-science-study-a7983656.html

[JayhawkSD]

1. And this is what passes for scientific discourse today?

"At the same time, explosive interactions of the magma with older coal deposits could have released large amounts of carbon dioxide and methane, two greenhouse gases, which would explain the intense global warming recorded in the oceans and on land at the time of the mass extinctions."

"Could have released." "Would explain." And, who was there to record the intense global warming in the oceans?

[bobalew]

2. The glacial record, and geology in general.

Surprisingly, we're getting really good at reading the earth's prehistoric data, trapped in layers of geology, ocean floors, and arctic ice cores. You have to embrace science, instead of glibly attempting anthropomorphizing it, to your ludditic benefit......

[Raster]

3. Ouch!

[JayhawkSD]

6. Glaciers and land features?

In what manner do glaciers and land formations specifically record ocean temperatures?

They may provide certain implications as to what ocean temperatures might have been relative to global temps in general, but they do not provide the ability to say authoritatively that ocean temperatures behaved in any specific manner. And the writer did not say that there were suggestions or implications of ocean temperatures, he said, quoting directly and word for word, that the dissolution of coal deposits which might have happened,

"would explain the intense global warming recorded in the oceans and on land at the time of the mass extinctions."

Who did the recording?

[hunter]

4. There's a link to the source and it's open.

Which is more than you get with a lot of popular science journalism.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-12759-9

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. 200 billion gallons? That's not really very much

Hurricane Harvey is thought to have dumped 19 trillion gallons of rain. 200 billion gallons would raise the level of Lake Erie by one inch.

The actual volume of lava from the Siberian Traps eruptions is thought to have been on the order of 4 million cubic kilometres. That's almost 900 quadrillion gallons, if the British Independent newspaper is using imperial gallons.

[JayhawkSD]

7. Another good point.

I didn't get past the "could have released, would explain," and trying to figure out who was there to record the intense increase in ocean and land temperatures.