But now they found new suspects are likely involved in the destruction. Namely the entry of mercury into the ecosystem. Previously, no one ever noticed whether mercury is a potential causative factor.
"The period was a time where volcanic activity was at its highest level in the history of Earth. Now we know that the main causes of mercury spills are volcanic eruptions, "said Steve Grasby, researchers from Natural Resources Canada, quoted by Science Daily, January 7, 2012.
In a report published in the journal Geology, Grasby said, it estimated that mercury is released into the Earth's surface when it is 30 times higher than the volcanic activity that occurred in the present. It makes volcanic eruptions 250 million years ago to be a very devastating event.
As is known, about 250 million years ago, long before dinosaurs came to power and the mainland are still joined in a single continent, the majority of life at sea and on land perished.
Plausible theory is that volcanic eruptions burn until the coal layer in the Earth's crust and smoke release CO2 and other deadly toxins into the air. Direct evidence of this theory has been presented also by Grasby, in January last year in the journal Nature Geoscience.
However, the levels of mercury deposits at the end of the Permian era were far significantly higher compared with the mercury emissions caused by human activity.
In some cases, the level of mercury in the ocean end of the Permian era similar to the levels of mercury in the highly contaminated ponds, around the smelting plant where the water system area was very heavily damaged, "said Grasby.
In this period, the natural defense system in the oceans and land becomes overloaded with mercury. "It causes the loss of up to 95 percent of life at sea," said Grasby.
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