Giant mass extinction may have occurred much quicker than previously believed

Researchers have said that the end-Permian extinction happened in 60,000 years - much faster than earlier estimates

Researchers at MIT have determined that the end-Permian extinction occurred over 60,000 years, give or take 48,000 years - practically instantaneous, from a geologic perspective.

The new timescale is based on more precise dating techniques, and indicates that the most severe extinction in history may have happened more than 10 times faster than scientists had previously thought.

In addition to establishing the extinction's duration, Sam Bowring, the Robert R. Shrock Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at MIT, graduate student Seth Burgess, and a colleague from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology also found that, 10,000 years before the die-off, the oceans experienced a pulse of light carbon, which likely reflects a massive addition of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

This dramatic change may have led to widespread ocean acidification and increased sea temperatures by 10 degrees Celsius or more, killing the majority of sea life.

To determine whether eruptions from the Siberian Traps triggered a massive increase in oceanic carbon dioxide, Burgess and Bowring are using similar dating techniques to establish a timescale for the Permian period's volcanic eruptions that are estimated to have covered over five million cubic kilometers.

The new timeline adds weight to the theory that the extinction was triggered by massive volcanic eruptions from the Siberian Traps that released volatile chemicals, including carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere and oceans. With such a short extinction timeline, Bowring says it is possible that a single, catastrophic pulse of magmatic activity triggered an almost instantaneous collapse of all global ecosystems.

The paper has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.