The amount of CO2 on Jurassic Earth is 5 times higher than the current

According to a recent study, the Earth during the period of dinosaurs 250 million years ago has a CO2 concentration 5 times higher than the present.

Geologist Douwe van der Meer, research author (University of Utrecht, Netherlands) said that during the Jurassic period, the dinosaurs dominated the world. During that time, the Earth's gut was also unstable, and supercontinent Pangea split into two major areas: Laurasia and Gondwana.

These tectonic activities have made oceans closer together and fixed tectonic plates into the Earth's crust. This process causes volcanoes to work vigorously, constantly melting rock and releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The large amount of CO ₂ makes the Jurassic Earth climate very hot and humid.

Scientists already know that a series of volcanic activities have produced CO2 more than once now, but it is not possible to determine the exact number by previous methods.

The Earth during the period of the dinosaurs had a CO2 concentration 5 times higher than the present.(Photo: livescience.com)

Van der Meer's team used a modern technique called "Seismic Capture " to recreate volcanic CO ₂ activity 250 million years ago. To do that, they analyzed earthquake waves in the Earth's crust to visualize the structure of the Earth's gut.

'This method is like a CT scan in a hospital. With accurate measurement of the time of earthquake waves, we can create a model of Earth's velocity. The faster waves are places with a cooler and denser material structure attached to the Earth's crust , ' van der Meer said.

Scientists then calculated the number of plaques absorbed into the Earth's crust by an ancient climate model to determine the amount of CO2 formed by volcanic activity. Since there is less carbon dioxide disappearing from monkeys due to plant activity and weathering, the total amount of carbon dioxide is 5 times higher than the present.

This result shows that CO2 is generated more than the results of studies conducted in the 80s and 90s.

'New estimates of CO ₂ are important in determining the relationship between CO2 and climate change. Our new understanding of Earth is independent, and confirms the existing data on atmospheric CO ₂ from fossil analysis , " said Appy Sluijs, co-author of the study.

One of the purposes of this study is to explore the relationship between climate and CO2 due to volcanic activity, thereby applying to predict future climate change.

'Human activities are generating more CO2 than all volcanoes on Earth. We will influence the climate in ways unprecedented. The question here is how the climate will change. We have answered this question in the past and will apply this knowledge to the future with extrapolation, " van der Meer said.