Volcanic Eruptions Helped Dinosaurs Dominate Planet Earth.

 

Quinn McCarthy

Mr. Ippolito: Period C Odd

9/29/21

Current Event Review: Volcanic Eruptions Helped Dinosaurs Dominate Planet Earth

Article:

Jones, Sam. “Volcanic Eruptions Helped Dinosaurs Dominate Planet Earth.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 27 Sept. 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/27/science/dinosaurs-volcanoes-triassic.html.

Link to article:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/27/science/dinosaurs-volcanoes-triassic.html

Link to review:

Review

             “Volcanic Eruptions Helped Dinosaurs Dominate Planet Earth” by Sam Jones, presents new information about Volcanic Eruptions from the Carnian Pluvial Episode (from 234 million to 232 million years ago), and the effect they had on Dinosaurs at the time. Following the Permian-Triassic extinction, which occurred 253 million years ago and wiped out roughly 90% of all the planet's species, skinnier and more reptilian-looking dinosaurs emerged. Up until the mass extinction of dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period, these creatures evolved into the fantastic creatures we think of as dinosaurs, such as the Triceratops and the Tyrannosaurus rex. To study what drove this transition, scientists have focused on the CPE (Carnian Pluvial Episode). Scientists specifically picked this period as  “the planet experienced an increase in global temperature, humidity and rainfall — a climate often referred to as a “mega-monsoon”. Researchers recently analyzed sediment and plant fossil evidence from a lake in Northern China, and were able to match four intense phases of volcanic activity with the changes of the CPE. This find enabled scientists to conclude that four distinct peaks in mercury, which correlate with Volcano activity, are linked to shifts in the carbon cycle as well as rainfall, thus resulting in local changes in the vegetation on land and in the studied Chinese lake. According to Jason Hilton, a paleobotanist at the University of Birmingham in England, “We’re often able to link volcanism to global warming, but our study is unusual in that we’ve also linked it to periods of intense rainfall”. During the CPE, plant and animal species that couldn’t adapt to the more humid environment went extinct. “These changes freed up ecological space for other groups of organisms, like dinosaurs, to thrive,” claimed Dr. Hilton.

            The research conducted as well as the studies completed help give us insight on current day global warming concerns. This article explained how increases in carbon dioxide released by volcanoes is thought to have increased global temperatures and caused more humid climates. According to Sarah Greene, a study co-author and paleoclimatologist at the University of Birmingham, “The rate at which these eruptions emit carbon dioxide is tiny compared to human carbon dioxide emissions today”. This article makes us question: If the increase in carbon dioxide from volcanoes had this detrimental of an impact on dinosaurs, what type of impact could the current extremely rapid increase in Carbon Dioxide have on humans and the environment?

            Overall, although I found “Volcanic Eruptions Helped Dinosaurs Dominate Planet Earth” by Sam Jones quite interesting, I feel as though it was very confusing. Several times when reading this article, I was lost as to the claims he was making. I feel as though Mr. Jones should have given more background information and should have been more clear when explaining the topics he covered. Sam Jones did however do quite a good job at choosing data and backing up claims he made. Despite the confusion caused by this article, I found the topic quite fascinating and exciting.