Scientists Predicted the Sixth Great Extinction of Species

Mathematicians at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have set a critical threshold for global ocean carbon sequestration. Exceeding this threshold will lead to the sixth mass extinction of species on Earth, LIFE said, quoted by BTA.

The fifth mass extinction of species was during the era of the disappearance of dinosaurs. Scientists predict that by the year 2100, an irreversible process involving the simultaneous disappearance of many species can begin in the biosphere. They have analyzed the results of several hundred studies of species extinction and the 542 million years of biogeochemical circle of carbon. They then separated those moments in which the extinction coincided with sharp fluctuations in the ratio of carbon isotopes 12 to carbon 13 in sedimentary rocks. These moments were interpreted as ejecting large amounts of carbon gas into the atmosphere.

As scientists have noted, a mass extinction was achieved when the natural carbon cycle failed to compensate for such discarding. Scientists have found that human-induced carbon dioxide releases into the atmosphere are very rapid. They calculated how much carbon gas should be absorbed by the oceans to make vulnerable species such as mollusks whose shells would dissolve in carbon dioxide-saturated water will begin to die. It turns out that for this purpose, 310 billion tons of carbon dioxide have to be thrown into the ocean. At current rates of carbon dioxide emitting to the world by 2100, will be 500 billion.