The Permian Mass Extinction

The Permian Mass Extinction is defined as one of five major mass extinctions which the earth experienced. Mass extinctions are caused by great changes of environment, and these changes take creatures’ ways of living. Geologic factors are one of main factors which generate big changes. Geologists consider that volcanism is a possible cause of the Permian Mass Extinction. According to National Geographic, “as volcanic gases poured into the skied, they would have generated acid rain, and sulfate molecules would have blocked sunlight and cooled the planet. Glaciation would have reduced the volume of water in the ocean, storing it as ice.” (National Geographic par. 32) Therefore, volcanism was the start line of the catastrophic chain reaction.