Wednesday, May 31, 2023
SCIENMAG: Latest Science and Health News
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Scienmag - Latest science news from science magazine
No Result
View All Result
Home SCIENCE NEWS Earth Science

Mercury Rising: New evidence that volcanism triggered the late Devonian extinction

May 1, 2018
in Earth Science
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
IMAGE

Credit: Racki et al.

Now, geologists have discovered a likely culprit: major volcanism, as revealed by a widespread pulse of mercury. The study was led by geologist Grzegorz Racki of the University of Silesia, Sosnoweic, Poland. "Up until now the main debate on this mass extinction has been what the main direct cause was," explains Racki. "We provide the first clear evidence for volcanism." The study was published online ahead of print in GEOLOGY on 26 April, 2018.

The team analyzed rocks from Morocco, Germany, and northern Russia, all dating from the same short geologic interval 372 million years ago, just before the Frasnian-Famennian boundary. In addition to being spread across two continents, the rocks varied from black shale, grey shale, to limestone, and ranged from a few centimeters to a few meters thick. Yet they all shared one particularly striking characteristic: a sharp mercury peak hundreds of times higher than background.

In other mass extinctions, elevated mercury has been closely linked to big-time volcanic episodes. In fact, points out Racki, mercury has become to Earth-based catastrophes what iridium is to extraterrestrial-based ones. "Mercury as a geochemical fingerprint of volcanism appears decisive in the new stage of mass extinction studies," he says.

"Now we can say that all of the 'Big Five' mass extinctions coincide with major volcanic events," adds co-author Paul Wignall, with the University of Leeds in England. "Until our discovery, this (late Devonian extinction) was the major exception."

So far, the actual smoking gun–a large region of age-appropriate volcanic rocks–has yet to be unearthed. Racki suggests that the leading candidate may be in Russia, although telltale volcanic rocks have apparently either been eroded away or deeply buried.

That absence actually provides another take-away from the study, says Wignall. "It's possible to discover evidence for giant volcanic episodes, using trace metals in sediments, even when the lavas themselves may have long vanished," he says.

###

FEATURED ARTICLE

Mercury enrichments and the Frasnian-Famennian biotic crisis: A volcanic trigger proved?

Contact: Lead author: Grzegorz Racki, [email protected]

Geology, https://doi.org/10.1130/G40233.1

GEOLOGY articles are online http://geology.geoscienceworld.org/content/early/recent. Representatives of the media may obtain complimentary articles by contacting Kea Giles at the e-mail address above. Please discuss articles of interest with the authors before publishing stories on their work, and please make reference to GEOLOGY in articles published. Non-media requests for articles may be directed to GSA Sales and Service, [email protected]. http://www.geosociety.org

Media Contact

Justin Samuel
[email protected]
@geosociety

http://www.geosociety.org

Original Source

http://www.geosociety.org/GSA/News/pr/2018/18-15.aspx http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/G40233.1

Share25Tweet16Share4ShareSendShare
  • blank

    Common additive may be why you have food allergies

    125 shares
    Share 36 Tweet 23
  • Element creation in the lab deepens understanding of surface explosions on neutron stars

    72 shares
    Share 29 Tweet 18
  • VIMS study reveals widgeongrass has replaced eelgrass as the dominant seagrass species in Chesapeake Bay

    65 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
  • Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation announces 2023 grant recipients to accelerate discovery of new treatments for pediatric cancers

    65 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
  • Archaeologists identify Moluccan boats that may have visited Australia from Indonesia on NT rock art drawings

    64 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
  • Null results research now published by major behavioral medicine journal

    775 shares
    Share 310 Tweet 194
ADVERTISEMENT

About us

We bring you the latest science news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Latest NEWS

Element creation in the lab deepens understanding of surface explosions on neutron stars

Study finds that eight factors put Black adults at greater risk of early death

Scientists target human stomach cells for diabetes therapy

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 206 other subscribers

© 2023 Scienmag- Science Magazine: Latest Science News.

No Result
View All Result
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US

© 2023 Scienmag- Science Magazine: Latest Science News.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In