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This would have led to one of the largest mass extinctions on record,
enabling dinosaurs to become dominant.
Mercury rising
If you can see a big spike in mercury in those sediments, you can
infer there is volcanism happening at that exact time
"If you can see a big spike in mercury in those sediments, you can
infer there is volcanism happening at that exact time," explained Mr
Percival.
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Image copyright Jessica Whiteside
Image caption Volcanic rocks hold traces of mercury from past eruptions
Prof Tamsin Mather from Oxford University said: "You get these
fissures, these cracks opening up in the Earth's crust, and probably
some fire fountains, and also lava flows opening up.
"You probably had different areas active at different times during the
million years. And you likely get eruptive periods going on for a
decade or so with enormous volumes of magma coming to the
surface and gases as well."
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This would have triggered a major mass extinction: animals
including vast crocodile-like creatures and reptilian-looking
mammals and early amphibians were wiped out.
New tool
Prof Mather said: "I think what's really exciting is that we are talking
about an episode of volcanism that happened 200 million years ago,
and these mercury records in the sediments are allowing us to say
new things about volcanism that happened that far back in deep
Earth time.
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