Eruption may have caused worst extinction ever

WORLD SCIENCE

New evidence suggests a vol­can­ic erup­tion caused the larg­est mass ex­tinc­tion in Earth’s his­to­ry, about 250 mil­lion years ago, re­search­ers say.

About 95 per cent of life was de­stroyed in the sea and 70 per cent on land in that in­ci­dent, ac­cord­ing to sci­en­tists. Re­search­ers at the Uni­vers­ity of Cal­ga­ry in Can­a­da be­lieve they have found ev­i­dence that mas­sive vol­can­ic erup­tions burnt huge vol­umes of coal, pro­duc­ing ash clouds that broadly af­fect­ed the oceans.

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