In the First World War example, rapid warming associated with the massive volcanism that occurred, including the Siberian traps, is believed to be responsible.
Volcanoes leave traces. As the lava overflows, large quantities of gases such as CO2 and methane, as well as particulate matter and heavy metals, are released into the atmosphere and deposited all over the world. “However, it is difficult to directly relate such a thing to an extinction event,” says one of the authors of the new paper. “As geologists, we’re looking for some kind of signature to show the exact cause.”
In this case, the researchers focused on mercury. “Volcanic mercury emissions turned out to have a very specific isotopic composition of mercury, accumulating on the extinction horizon. Now that we know the age of these deposits, we can more precisely correlate the extinction time with this big bang in Siberia,” the geologists write.
Currently scientists are working to clarify this time.
Source: Ferra
