Global warming could cause mass extinction of species on earth, as per a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Leeds. Fossil records have proved that rapid depletion of the planet’s biodiversity had occurred millions of years back from rising temperature.
The researchers led by Timothy Benton used sea surface temperature, extrapolated from fossilized records of the oxygen and acidity levels, to determine the fluctuations over tens of millions of years between ‘greenhouse’ and ‘icehouse’ periods.
Then using fossil records, they determined the changes in the number of plant and animal families inhabiting the earth.
By matching the two records, the researchers found that 250 million years ago, at the end of the Permian period 95% of all species, including 70% of land plants, insects and vertebrae were wiped out by global warming.
The study did not deal with the likely causes of rise in temperature – whether natural or as more recent from fossil burning. Whatever is the reason, it is never the less true that our planet had earlier faced a bout of rising temperature, causing mass extinction of its species.
If emission of green house gas proceeds unchecked then it will not be long that another era of decline in biodiversity will visit the planet after 520 million years.
Source: Yahoo!
Image: Greenpeace
