How did the Gulf of Mexico escape mass extinction?

56 million years ago, a global warming caused the oceans to acidify and many marine life to be wiped out, greatly affecting the Gulf of Mexico - where life was 'protected' by geology. uniqueness of the basin - according to research by the University of Texas Institute of Geophysics (UTIG).

Published in the journal Marine and Petroleum Geology, the discovery not only sheds new light on the mass extinction of organisms in ancient times, but could also help scientists determine how climate change will occur today. affect marine life and aid in the search for oil and gas fields.

Marine life cannot survive in many other places, but the Gulf of Mexico region is not affected.

'Although the Gulf of Mexico has changed a lot today, valuable lessons can be learned when we in modern times know how climate change has impacted the Gulf in the past' - geographer UTIG chemistry Bob Cunningham, who led the study, said.

Cunningham and his colleagues investigated ancient global warming and its effects on marine life and chemistry by studying a range of sediments, mud, sand and rocks Lime is found throughout the Gulf.

Researchers sifted through debris brought up during oil and gas drilling and found numerous bacteria from plankton species that thrived in the Gulf during ancient Earth warming. grand. They concluded that a steady supply of river sediments and recirculating ocean water helped radionuclides and other microorganisms survive even as Earth's warming climate threatened life. .

'Marine life could not be found in many other places, but the Gulf of Mexico region does not appear to be as affected as other oceans,' said UTIG biologist Marcie Purkey Phillips.

About 20 million years ago when the Earth warmed, the rise of the Rocky Mountains redirected rivers into the northwestern Gulf of Mexico - a tectonic shift known as the Laramide uplift - bringing most of the rivers into the ocean. the continent's rivers through Texas and Louisiana into the deeper waters of the Gulf. As global warming occurs, North America gets hotter and hotter, the rivers of rainwater sucking up nutrients and sediments. accumulate in the basin, providing many nutrients for phytoplankton and other food sources for carnivores.

Studies also confirm that the Gulf of Mexico is still connected to the Atlantic Ocean and that the salinity of the sea water in this place is not at extreme levels. According to Phillips, the presence of the radioactive individual alone confirmed that the waters of the Gulf did not become too salty. Cunningham added that the organic content of the sediments gradually decreased further away from the coast - an indication that deep Atlantic currents are sweeping the basin's bottom.

The findings are important for researchers investigating the effects of global warming today because they show how the waters and ecosystems of the Gulf have changed during times of climate change. Queen.

For study co-author John Snedden, this is a perfect example of how industry data can be used to address important scientific questions.

'The Gulf of Mexico is a huge natural archive of geological history that is also very closely surveyed. We used these databases to examine one of the highest thermal events in the geological record, and I think it gives us an overview of a very important moment in history. Earth,' he said.