The volcanism of the ocean has caused severe species extinction

Researchers collaborated with colleagues at the University of Oldenburg, University of Leeds, and Plymouth University to study the impact of volcanic ash and lava on ocean chemicals during extreme environmental changes approximately 450 million years ago

This period led to intense planetary cooling and ended with glaciation and the "Late Ordovician mass extinction"

The lead author of the Oldenburg University study, Dr.

The study’s co-author and associate professor at the University of Southampton, Dr.

The research team found that there have been two unusually large pulses of volcanic activity on a global scale.

This prompted the research team to consider whether there is a secondary process—the natural decomposition or “weathering” of volcanic material—providing the surge in phosphorus needed to explain the effect of glaciers

"When volcanic material is deposited in the ocean, it undergoes rapid and profound chemical changes, including the release of phosphorus, effectively providing fertilizer to the ocean," said co-author Professor Martin Palmer of the University of Southampton

Dr.

Dr.

The research team found that during the Ordovician period, a large amount of volcanic material covered the seabed, which may have released enough phosphorus to the ocean, which triggered a series of events, including climate cooling, glaciation, general decline in ocean oxygen levels, and mass extinctions.

Although it is easy to think that planting phosphorus in the ocean may help solve the current climate crisis, scientists have warned that this could have more serious and devastating consequences

Scientists have concluded that although large-scale volcanic eruptions can warm the climate by emitting carbon dioxide in a short period of time, they can also promote global cooling on a time scale of millions of years

Journal Reference :

1. Jack Longman, Benjamin JW Mills, Hayley R.