Scientists believe they could have found one of the largest triggers of the world's biggest climate catastrophe over 252 million years ago.
Image source: PRUSSIA ART / Adobe
The researchers say that the spread of the ash produced is consistent with some of the largest volcanic eruptions that we know of.Layers of ash found in layers of sediment rock provide additional evidence of super-eruptions. Similar layers can also be found near de road at Teide National Park in Spain, as pictured above. Image source: dtatiana / Adobe
Further, as the researchers note, layers of light-colored volcanic ash can be found buried in the sedimentary rock. They found these layers across massive areas of New South Wales and even Queensland. Even more intriguing, though, is the scale of the super-eruptions. It makes sense that they would have been big, especially if they helped cause the world’s biggest climate catastrophe.