The Great Dying, The Big One — The Permo-Triassic!
(In a time machine, not sure if that’s where I’d aim …)
As extinctions go, this one’s a blockbuster classic,
When most of Earth’s species dropped out of the game.
Conodont fossils reveal massive changes
In sea surface temperatures (and CO2?).
Terrestrial critters reduced their lat ranges;
Low-oxygen regions in deep ocean grew.
Peat swamps disappeared (a great gap in coal),
And at the equator, most fish would fry.
At times like these, seems wise to head for the pole!
In a hot-steamy world … adapt, move, or die.
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Further reading:
Lethally Hot Temperatures During the Early Triassic Greenhouse, Yadong Sun et al., Science, 2012
Life in the Early Triassic Ocean, David J. Bottjer, Science, 2012
This is one in a series of poems based on science news, written by Katherine Allen, a researcher in geochemistry and paleoclimate at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. “Some Do Not Like It Hot” first appeared on Allen’s website on Oct. 19, 2012.
