Was the great destruction caused by the growth of the roots of the trees?
The event of great destruction in the oceans in the Devonian period was the development of the roots of trees. (Representational photo: Shutterstock)
In the history of the Earth, about 40 to 38 million years ago, due to the depletion of oxygen in the oceans, there was a mass extinction. In the new study, scientists have found that the reason for this was the development of the roots of the trees, which had brought an excessive amount of nutrition to the oceans, due to which the oxygen was depleted due to the growth of algae in large quantities and the catastrophe came.
Highlights
⏩ In the Devonian period, great destruction came due to the lack of oxygen in the oceans.
⏩ The reason for this was the development of the roots of the trees, due to which a large amount of nutrition reached the oceans.
⏩ Due to this, heavy algae swelled in the oceans and the oxygen of the oceans was over.
Our scientists especially study the events of Mass Extinction on Earth. They want to know what kind of events can cause a catastrophe and whether the results of climate change on our earth are pushing us in the same direction. In archaeological exploration, scientists keep getting information about the history of the earth and such incidents. In such a new study, it has been found that due to the development of the roots of trees, a series of events of great destruction started on the earth 300 million years ago.
30 million years ago
In a study led by scientists from the UK’s IUPUI, scientists have found that the development of tree roots in Earth’s oceans triggered a series of catastrophes during the 300 million-year Devonian period. The results of this study of Earth’s prehistoric times have been published in the GSA Bulletin.
Oxygen had run out of oceans
Gabriel Filipelli, professor of earth sciences in IUPUI’s School of Science and who led the study, said their analysis showed that tree roots in that evolution served to deliver a large amount of nutrition to the oceans, leading to large amounts of algae. have been developed. This huge amount of algae growth would have depleted most of the oxygen in the oceans, triggering the catastrophic catastrophe.
70 percent of life was lost
The Devonian period was the period between 429 million years and 358 million years when life on Earth did not begin on Earth. It is recognized as the period of the Mahavinash period. It is believed that 70 percent of life on Earth was destroyed. In this study, special mention is made of the process called eutrophication.
During this period, due to the roots of the trees, the oxygen in the oceans was exhausted. (Representational photo: Shutterstock)
What is eutrophication
The process of eutrophication is seen today on a smaller scale in lakes and ponds where water from manure and other agricultural fields brings with it nutrients and huge algae bloom is seen in the pond. This type of process has also resulted in dead zones in the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico, where life becomes impossible to sustain because algae consume all the oxygen in the water.
Then this process used to happen for a different reason.
The only difference between the process now and now is that during that time it was caused by the roots of the trees, due to which the process of eutrophication took place. Then the roots of the trees pulled the nutrients from the ground and carried them to the water during fragmentation. Researchers say that this theory is made on the basis of new and old evidence
In that period, the eutrification process which is happening in the lakes today took place in the oceans. (Representational photo: Shutterstock)
The Phosphorus Cycle and the Soil
The researchers based their study on the chemical analysis of rock sediments at the bottoms of lakes that are found all over the world. The researchers specifically took samples from areas in Greenland and Scotland and identified the phosphorus cycle. Along with this, he also got information about the development of soil in that period in which he got a lot of Phosphor.
Researchers said that at that time, along with the growth of the roots of the first tree, the phosphorus cycle was also going on in such a way that the fragmentation of the roots of the trees was the main reason for the great destruction in the Devonian period. It is true that there is no such situation in the world as it was in the Devonian period. But due to climate change and other human activities, there is a decrease in the oxygen of the oceans and if this continues, the oceans can reach a state of complete lack of oxygen today.
