When Life Nearly Died by Michael J. Benton

What caused destruction on such an unimaginable scale? Was it the impact of a huge meteorite, or prolonged volcanic eruption in Siberia? In this acclaimed book, now updated to include the most recent research and findings, Michael Benton assembles all the evidence and gives his verdict. In this cataclysm at least 90% of life was killed, both on land and in the sea, almost bringing evolution to a halt. The greatest mass extinction in Earth's history happened some 251 million years ago. What caused destruction on such an unimaginable scale? Was it the impact of a huge meteorite, or prolonged volcanic eruption in Siberia? Num Pages: 352 pages, 48 illustrations. In this cataclysm at least 90 per cent of life was killed, both on land and in the sea, almost bringing evolution to a halt.

The greatest mass extinction in Earths history happened some 251 million years ago.

Environmental science, engineering & technologyĭescription for When Life Nearly Died: The Greatest Mass Extinction of All Time (Revised edition) Paperback.

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In the twelve years since the book was originally published, hundreds of geologists and paleontologists have been investigating all aspects of how life could be driven to the brink of annihilation, and especially how life recovered afterwards, providing the foundations of modern ecosystems. The new edition brings the study of the greatest mass extinction of all time thoroughly up-to-date.

Benton gives his verdict at the end of the volume.

Was the end-Permian event caused by the impact of a huge meteorite or comet, or by prolonged volcanic eruption in Siberia? The evidence has been accumulating, and Michael J. When Life Nearly Died documents not only what happened during this gigantic mass extinction but also the recent renewal of the idea of catastrophism: the theory that changes in the earth's crust were brought about suddenly in the past by phenomena that cannot be observed today. Create lists, bibliographies and reviews: or Search WorldCat.

It is far less widely understood that a much greater catastrophe took place at the end of the Permian period 251 million years ago: at least ninety percent of life on earth was destroyed. Search for Library Items Search for Lists Search for Contacts Search for a Library. Today it is common knowledge that the dinosaurs were wiped out by a meteorite impact 65 million years ago that killed half of all species then living.

When Life Nearly Died by Michael J. Benton