Article #4: 10/21/12
University of Leeds. "Tropical collapse in Early Triassic caused by lethal
heat: Extreme temperatures blamed for 'Dead Zone'." ScienceDaily, 18
Oct. 2012. Web. 21 Oct. 2012.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121018141844.htm
Topic in Environmental Science: Climate
In most cases after a mass extinction, that place is considered a dead zone and oganisms are not able to live there for many years. An example of this would be after the dinosaurs were extinct, the 'dead zone' lasted for about five million years. Studies made at the University of Leeds, China University of Geosciences and the University of Erlangen-Nurnburg found that the reason why that dead zone lasted for so long was because the temperature in the tropics rose so high (50-60°C on land and 40°C at the sea surface). This extreme heat prevented any life from regrowing for millions of years. The same study was also the first to prove that the temperature close to the surface of the ocean can reach 40°C, because up until now it has been assumed that the temperature cannot exceed 30°C. The dead zone would have been described as being wet but with no plant or animal life growing. The only place that would have been safe from the heat would be the arctic regions. The absence of plants meant there was nothing to absorb the carbon dioxide, causing the temperature to increase. Scientists hope that global warming will never reach temperatures near that of after the dinosaurs went extinct but it is said that if they do then it will take millions of years for the earth to recover again.
I chose this article because it was interesting to find out how the whole planet was effected by the extinction of the dinosaurs and how it remained 'dead' for so many years. I never knew how long it took for life to regrow after the mass extinction but I always assumed it was just a few thousand years, a million years at the most but I didn't expect for it to be five million. Reading this article also made me fearful of what will happen to our planet if global warming continues and what life will be like for the future generations.
Topic in Environmental Science: Climate
In most cases after a mass extinction, that place is considered a dead zone and oganisms are not able to live there for many years. An example of this would be after the dinosaurs were extinct, the 'dead zone' lasted for about five million years. Studies made at the University of Leeds, China University of Geosciences and the University of Erlangen-Nurnburg found that the reason why that dead zone lasted for so long was because the temperature in the tropics rose so high (50-60°C on land and 40°C at the sea surface). This extreme heat prevented any life from regrowing for millions of years. The same study was also the first to prove that the temperature close to the surface of the ocean can reach 40°C, because up until now it has been assumed that the temperature cannot exceed 30°C. The dead zone would have been described as being wet but with no plant or animal life growing. The only place that would have been safe from the heat would be the arctic regions. The absence of plants meant there was nothing to absorb the carbon dioxide, causing the temperature to increase. Scientists hope that global warming will never reach temperatures near that of after the dinosaurs went extinct but it is said that if they do then it will take millions of years for the earth to recover again.
I chose this article because it was interesting to find out how the whole planet was effected by the extinction of the dinosaurs and how it remained 'dead' for so many years. I never knew how long it took for life to regrow after the mass extinction but I always assumed it was just a few thousand years, a million years at the most but I didn't expect for it to be five million. Reading this article also made me fearful of what will happen to our planet if global warming continues and what life will be like for the future generations.