Squeezed Or Punched? Interesting Parallels Between Anthropocene, Permian Extinction Ocean Trends

[hatrack]

EDIT

"Today the synergistic effects of human impacts are laying the groundwork for a comparably great Anthropocene mass extinction in the oceans, with unknown ecological and evolutionary consequences," Jeremy Jackson of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, wrote in a 2008 article published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

When it comes to the oceans, research shows a parallel to the Permian-Triassic extinction — also known as the Great Dying — which eradicated 95 percent of marine species when the oceans lost their oxygen about 250 million years ago. The same phenomenon is taking place in many areas of today's oceans. The entry of fertilizers into rivers and subsequently oceans is eating up the oceans' oxygen — that runoff is the primary source of the Gulf of Mexico's 3,000-square-mile (7,770-square-kilometer) dead zone. Around the world, the number of dead zones, some of which are naturally occurring, increased from 149 in 2003 to more than 200 in 2006, according to a 2008 report by the United Nations Environmental Program.

What's more, the ocean surface is warming, driven by the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. This keeps the deeper waters, which are rich in nutrients but low in oxygen, from mixing with the oxygenated surface. According to a 2007 report from the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), global surface temperatures increased by 1.1 degrees Fahrenheit (0.6 degrees Celsius) throughout the 21st century, and, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), this decade is the warmest since record-keeping began in 1880.

At the time of the third of the Big Five extinctions, the Permian-Triassic, there was only one massive continent and one massive ocean, conditions that disrupted ocean circulation and inhibited oxygen circulation in an already warm world, according to Lee Kump, a geoscientist at Pennsylvania State University. That set the stage for the ultimate trigger, a series of massive volcanic eruptions in Siberia. The eruptions pumped massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This warmed the ocean further, exacerbating its oxygen problem. Meanwhile, more storms on land washed more oxygen-eating nutrients into the ocean. Bacteria began producing hydrogen sulfide, which was ultimately expelled into an atmosphere already toxic with carbon dioxide, according to Kump.

A comparison of carbon dioxide release then versus now is telling, Kump said. Siberian volcanoes emitted tens of thousands of gigatons of carbon dioxide into the air over what was probably thousands of years. Humans currently are producing 9 gigatons per year from fossil fuel reservoirs that contain up to 4,000 gigatons. The rate of carbon dioxide release matters, Kump said, because life has to have time to adapt. "It's: Would you rather be squeezed or punched?" Kump said. "The Permian extinction was a squeeze that gradually got tighter and tighter ... It may ultimately have been more fatal than the punch we are going to get, but the punch is going to hurt more."

EDIT

http://livescience.com/environment/earth-oceans-mass-extinction-100728.html

[RevStPatrick]

1. We are in the midst of one of the great dieoffs.

We need to think about and ideally plan for what to do to to get our species to the other side of this. We can certainly continue to behave as if we are the masters of the world and we have nothing to worry about. However, eternity does not care if we get it together or not. In a few million years something else will come along and pretend to be the masters of the world after we are gone. Or not. Again, eternity does not care.

I personally believe that the consciousness we have evolved is worth keeping around and building upon. For the most part, I like us. I would like to see us colonize space, but I would prefer that we not trash the planet in the process. We've got a lot of work to do, and it is disheartening to see that so many people just couldn't give a shit.

[haikugal]

3. We Can't Even Come To Terms With The Fact Of Global Warming

and our part in it. I agree with you, I'd like to see those things too but my family and I have our collapsing economy, government and way of life to deal with as well. That's a lot to put on my kids and grandkids plates. Without real effort and change I don't give us very much time when looked at in your time scale.

[pscot]

4. From deeper in the article

a comment on our vaunted "consciousness".

"I think it will be an enigmatic extinction. Future geologists will try to figure out why we apparently tried to kill off so many species, but they will find it hard to believe that simple reason is stupidity".

[glitch]

6. It is disheartening, but not everyone is burying their heads in the sand.

Some people are working on it and it is encouraging to seek them out.

Welcome to DU!

[RevStPatrick]

7. Thank you for the welcome!

Long-time lurker.

[BrklynLiberal]

2. One can hope that if the humans die off quickly enough, the rest of the planet may regenerate

Mother Earth will be able to breathe a sigh of relief, and her creations can start living their lives unfettered by people and their destructive nature.

[n2doc]

5. I vote for "punched"

as everything is.........faster than expected........