Study: Mega Volcanoes Could be Responsible for Half of All Extinctions

Death from above joined by death from below

Massive volcanic eruptions may have led to the extermination of half of Earth's species some 200 million years ago, a new study suggests.

The release of gases from giant eruptions caused climate change that led to the End-Triassic Extinction, the widespread loss of land and sea species that made way for the rise of the dinosaurs, the research says. The new study, published today (March 21) in the journal Science, shows that a set of major eruptions spanning from what is now New Jersey to Morocco occurred very close to the time of the extinction.