Stanford Study Ties 252-Million-Year Extinction to Warming, Oxygen Loss
Updated
Updated · ScienceDaily · Jul 13
Stanford Study Ties 252-Million-Year Extinction to Warming, Oxygen Loss
3 articles · Updated · ScienceDaily · Jul 13
Summary
A Stanford-led study found marine species' physiological tolerance to hotter, low-oxygen water largely determined who survived the Permian-Triassic extinction 252 million years ago.
About 96% of marine species died after massive volcanic eruptions released CO2 and methane, warming oceans and depleting oxygen; experiments showed vulnerable Paleozoic animals' oxygen demands spiked fastest as temperatures rose.
Brachiopods, Crinoids and other once-dominant bottom dwellers were nearly wiped out, while only about half of mollusks disappeared and survivors such as clams, snails, fish and echinoderms came to dominate modern seas.
Published July 6 in PNAS, the study says warming and oxygen loss were the main drivers, with acidification likely a secondary stressor.
The researchers say the findings sharpen warnings for today: the Great Dying involved 8-12°C warming over millennia, while modern oceans are projected to warm 1.5-4°C by 2100.
The Great Dying's worst effects were delayed 50,000 years. Is a similar climate time bomb ticking in our oceans now?
Metabolism determined ocean survivors in the 'Great Dying'. Are today's marine species physiologically equipped for a repeat?
The Great Dying Decoded: Stanford-Led Study Pinpoints Warming and Deoxygenation as Main Drivers of the Permian–Triassic Extinction
Overview
A major Stanford-led study published in July 2026 has revealed that the Permian–Triassic extinction, known as the Great Dying, was mainly caused by massive volcanic eruptions in the Siberian Traps about 252 million years ago. These eruptions released huge amounts of carbon dioxide and methane, which warmed the planet and raised global ocean temperatures by 8–12°C over thousands of years. This rapid warming led to severe ocean deoxygenation, wiping out 96% of marine species and 70% of land animals. The study highlights how these linked events created conditions that ancient life could not survive, offering important lessons for today’s changing climate.