Research Paper
The Cambrian Ordovician extinction is the first one that I will mention in this project. At this time, many animals relied on the warm water and plentiful oxygen to survive. All that needed to happen for a mass extinction was for one of these resources to disappear. That is exactly what two leading theories propose happened. The first presented theory is that glaciers covered the earth, killing temperature sensitive animals and changing geography. The second theory that I plan to present is the lack of oxygen in the atmosphere. This had calamitous effects on the environment because most living things rely on it
The next extinction is the Ordovician Silurian extinction. The theories I have put fourth for this include CO2 shortage and gamma ray burst. A CO2 shortage could weaken the earths atmosphere. the effects of this could have been tragic for life on earth at the time. My other theory is a gamma ray burst. This could have wiped out half of earths life in just 10 seconds. These effects would certainly led to disaster. However, there is no solid evidence for this theory.
The next explored event is the late Devonian extinction. This could have been caused by many things ranging from CO2 depletion to meteorite impact. The basic idea of this is that when the cloud of dust blocks out light, it prevents photosynthesis which kills plants. When a lot of plants die, a lot of other organisms die, causing a major collapse.
My next extinction that I studied is the Carboniferous Rain Forest Collapse. In this event, the leading theory is that rain forests used up too much CO2, causing climate change. Since CO2 is a greenhouse gas, the absence of it had detrimental effects, cooling the climate so rain forests could not survive. A second theory is that a meteorite struck the earth emitting a cloud of dust. This cloud can block out sunlight, killing organisms such as trees in rain forests that rely heavily on the sun.
The final event that I visited was the Permian Triassic event. It could have been caused by many things. It was the single largest mass extinction event ever to occur on the planet earth. One theory for why this happened can be blamed upon volcanoes. The theory is that there was a widespread volcanic toxic gas release. This may have polluted the rainwater, causing acid rain. Acid rain can have a major affect on the environment, one that may have been lethal. Another theory is that when Pangaea formed, many animals who were adapted to a certain environment were suddenly out of place and unable to quickly adapt.
The next extinction is the Ordovician Silurian extinction. The theories I have put fourth for this include CO2 shortage and gamma ray burst. A CO2 shortage could weaken the earths atmosphere. the effects of this could have been tragic for life on earth at the time. My other theory is a gamma ray burst. This could have wiped out half of earths life in just 10 seconds. These effects would certainly led to disaster. However, there is no solid evidence for this theory.
The next explored event is the late Devonian extinction. This could have been caused by many things ranging from CO2 depletion to meteorite impact. The basic idea of this is that when the cloud of dust blocks out light, it prevents photosynthesis which kills plants. When a lot of plants die, a lot of other organisms die, causing a major collapse.
My next extinction that I studied is the Carboniferous Rain Forest Collapse. In this event, the leading theory is that rain forests used up too much CO2, causing climate change. Since CO2 is a greenhouse gas, the absence of it had detrimental effects, cooling the climate so rain forests could not survive. A second theory is that a meteorite struck the earth emitting a cloud of dust. This cloud can block out sunlight, killing organisms such as trees in rain forests that rely heavily on the sun.
The final event that I visited was the Permian Triassic event. It could have been caused by many things. It was the single largest mass extinction event ever to occur on the planet earth. One theory for why this happened can be blamed upon volcanoes. The theory is that there was a widespread volcanic toxic gas release. This may have polluted the rainwater, causing acid rain. Acid rain can have a major affect on the environment, one that may have been lethal. Another theory is that when Pangaea formed, many animals who were adapted to a certain environment were suddenly out of place and unable to quickly adapt.