Scientists revealed that land-sea "tag-team" triggered mass extinctions of species from the oceans 100 million years ago. What are the environmental events, then?
A series of severe environmental crises in the oceans, spanning 185 to 85 million years ago, significantly altered the course of evolution on Earth. This "tag-team" between the oceans and continents had devastating consequences for marine life and left a lasting impact on our planet's biological history. Oceanic Anoxic Events: The Trigger for Mass Extinctions According to Interesting Engineering, researchers have identified these environmental crises as "oceanic anoxic events," periods when dissolved oxygen levels in the oceans plummeted to critically low levels. This depletion of oxygen led to major biological upheavals, including mass extinctions of marine species. The study, spearheaded by the University of Southampton, involved collaboration with universities from across the globe, including Leeds, Bristol, Adelaide, Utrecht, Waterloo, and Yale. "Oceanic anoxic events were like hitting the reset button on the planet's ecosystems. The challenge was understanding which geological forces hit the button," said the study's lead author, Tom Gernon, who also works as Southampton's Earth Science Professor. Related Article: Ocean Inspires New Tech to Accelerate the Carbon Capture from Ships Impact of Tectonic Forces on Ocean Chemistry The research focused on the Mesozoic era, which encompasses the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, a time commonly known as the age of the dinosaurs. Evidence from this era can…