An extinction without warning
(WorldNews Environment)

The most severe mass extinction in Earth`s history occurred with almost no early warning signs, according to a new study by scientists at MIT, China, and elsewhere. The end-Permian mass extinction, which took place 251.9 million years ago, killed off more than 96 percent of the planet`s marine species and 70 percent of its terrestrial life - a global annihilation that marked the end of the Permian Period. The new study, published today in the GSA Bulletin, reports that in the approximately 30,000 years leading up to the end-Permian extinction, there is no geologic evidence of species starting to die out. The researchers also found no signs of any big swings in ocean temperature or dramatic...