Scientists predict next human and mammal extinction from Earth in new study

The study claims that Earth's continents are drifting and will one day form a single supercontinent. This will be accompanied by rising temperatures, making the human and mammalian survival impossible

The most fascinating and terrifying thing about the world is that it will end one day. This was just a thought earlier, but now the world is a little closer to knowing the answer to when humans and other mammals might face extinction, and it is not comforting.

 

A senior research associate at the University of Bristol, Dr Alexander Farnsworth, led a team of researchers to conduct a study, the findings of which were published in the journal Nature Geoscience. The study claims that the continents of the planet are moving, or drifting, slowly, and will eventually merge to become a supercontinent, called Pangea Ultima.

 

 

According to the research that used supercomputer climate models, it predicts that the new continent formation will result in significant changes in the earth's climate resulting in too hot and dry atmosphere for most life forms to survive. The surge in the climate temperatures takes place because of three reasons; continentality effect, hotter sun and more carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere.

 

With the formation of the supercontinent, more land area will be far from the cooling effect of the sea, resulting in surging temperatures, a phenomenon known as the continentality effect. With the merger of the continents, the inland areas will face a lack of water bodies resulting in a hotter atmosphere. In the coming million years or so, the sun will become much hotter and brighter, emitting more energy to Earth and more volcanic activity will be the reason behind more CO2 release.

 

According to Dr Farnsworth, the fate would be sealed by widespread temperatures ranging between 40 to 50 degrees Celsius or 104 to 122° Fahrenheit, with even greater daily extremes compounded by high humidity levels. This surge in temperature would lead to the extinction of many other species.

 

In the study, the author emphasises that the current climate crisis looms over us. The team of researchers used the model of tectonic plate movement and ocean chemistry to predict the future of carbon dioxide. Currently, the CO2 level is around 400 parts per million, which will increase to over 600 ppm in the coming years. The future of humanity seems bleak if the CO2 emissions aren't reduced to zero as soon as possible.

Mass extinctions on Earth

Previously, the earth has witnessed five mass extinction events. The Ordovician-Silurian Extinction that wiped out 85 per cent of sea life happened around 443 million years ago.

 

Then the second such incident, the Late Devonian Extinction, took place around 360 million years ago killing over 75 percent of species.

 

The Permian-Triassic Extinction, also called 'The Great Dying', happened 252 million years ago, when an erupting volcanic eruption in what is today Siberia released massive amounts of lava leading to severe climate change, acid rain and ocean acidification.

 

The Triassic-Jurassic Extinction happened around 200 million years ago killing 50 per cent of the species.

 

The Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction occurred around 66 million years ago when a colossal asteroid impact created the Chicxulub crater in present-day Mexico killing all the dinosaurs besides 75 percent of the species.