Ancient oceans began suffocating millions of years before Triassic mass extinction, geologists discover

Ancient oceans began suffocating millions of years before Triassic mass extinction, geologists discover

One of the most devastating extinctions in Earth's history is best known for what didn't die—dinosaurs. But the end-Triassic extinction 201 million years ago wiped out roughly 60% of Earth's species, and scientists are still piecing together how it unfolded.

Ancient oceans started to suffocate 8 million years before the Triassic mass extinction

The end-Triassic extinction is often overshadowed by the disaster that killed the dinosaurs, but on its own it ranks among the worst biological crises in Earth’s history. Around 201 million years ago, roughly 60 percent of marine invertebrate genera disappeared, along with many other forms of life on land and in the sea. Now, a new study suggests the oceans had been sliding toward trouble long before the main collapse arrived. By tracing chemica…