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The Ends of the World

Peter Brannen

The Ends of the World

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Although the disappearance of the dinosaurs, such as the formidable T-Rex, does tend to get the most attention among all our many dramatic palaeontological discoveries, the mass extinction that wiped these giant lizards off the face of the Earth is only one of five that our planet has gone through, and it was not even the most catastrophic. Life on Earth has all but died out five times over the course of around 600 million years. The interglacial era we are living in today is just one of many that have existed, and in this case, it has allowed our species to flourish. The climate changes we are causing, however, are pushing planet earth’s geological and biological equilibrium to its limits. We do not know what will happen if we carry on in this way, and not even studying the most unfathomable and mysterious depths of the past can help us to predict the future. Five mass extinctions have failed to wipe out life on our planet, but this modern and curious primate we call “human”, has taken it upon itself to dig up and burn all the planet’s reserves of fossil fuels and gases, and this latest process of extinction could well be the one to deal the final blow.

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Analysis and key concepts

01.

Before setting off on this journey into the past, we need to have a basic understanding of the carbon cycle and of how the Earth regulates its temperature

02.

The Cambrian and Ordovician periods mark the beginning of complex life on Earth, especially in the water, and the first real mass extinction in the history of the planet

03.

The second mass extinction occurred at the end of the Devonian period, 375 million years ago

04.

The end of the Permian Period, 250 million years ago, was the worst apocalypse the planet had ever seen

05.

In geological terms, the catastrophic demise of the Permian Period was over in the blink of an eye, and then gradually gave way to a new world of reptiles

06.

The dinosaurs roamed the planet during the Cretaceous period, which ended with the most remarkable and rapid mega-extinction of them all

07.

The Pleistocene is the most recent global extinction, which began about 50,000 years ago, and ended with a glaciation that is still underway

08.

Quotes

09.

Take-home message

01. Before setting off on this journey into the past, we need to have a basic understanding of the carbon cycle and of how the Earth regulates its temperature

Higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere lead to higher temperatures, while lower levels of carbon dioxide, and higher levels of oxygen, are linked to colder temperatures. Over the course of history, whenever life on Earth has gone through tough times, it has always been as a result of imbalances in the carbon cycle. 

So, what is the carbon cycle? Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, which means that it warms our atmosphere, and reacts with rain to make it acidic. This acidic rain falls to the ground, gradually eroding rocks, and carrying its contents into rivers, lakes, and oceans. The calcium- and carbon-rich water then reaches marine microorganisms at the bottom of the food chain, such as sponges and plankton. This process transfers carbon from the atmosphere to living organisms, which then return it to the soil when they die. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is slowly but surely replaced by volcanic eruptions on land or under the sea, but if these levels increase too much, the Earth starts to warm up. 

Our planet, however, also has a wonderful temperature-regulating mechanism, which works a bit like a thermostat. When there is too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the rain becomes more acidic, and corrodes the soil more quickly, washing away the excess greenhouse gas, and helping to lower temperatures. These facts have been known and accepted for two hundred years within the scientific community. The main concern today is that we have now altered this cycle by releasing huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in a very short time. 

In order to study the Ice Ages, palaeontologists use foraminifera, which are small marine protozoa that trap oxygen particles in their microscopic shells. The more oxygen isotopes found, the colder the climate must have been.

02. The Cambrian and Ordovician periods mark the beginning of complex life on Earth, especially in the water, and the first real mass extinction in the history of the planet

03. The second mass extinction occurred at the end of the Devonian period, 375 million years ago

04. The end of the Permian Period, 250 million years ago, was the worst apocalypse the planet had ever seen

05. In geological terms, the catastrophic demise of the Permian Period was over in the blink of an eye, and then gradually gave way to a new world of reptiles

06. The dinosaurs roamed the planet during the Cretaceous period, which ended with the most remarkable and rapid mega-extinction of them all

07. The Pleistocene is the most recent global extinction, which began about 50,000 years ago, and ended with a glaciation that is still underway

08. Quotes

09. Take-home message

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Many useful tips to:

  • Realise how young the human species really is, compared to the history of the Earth. 
  • Learn to appreciate the beauty of the natural balances that govern our planet. 
  • Let your imagination take you on a journey of discovery into the Earth’s most distant and mysterious past.

Peter Brannen is an American science journalist, who has earned a reputation for his ability to explain the history of the Earth, and the life that inhabits it, in an engaging and accessible manner. He is a graduate of Boston College, and began his career writing for The Boston Globe and The Guardian, before becoming a full-time science populariser in magazines such as The New York Times, Wired, The Atlantic, and National Geographic. His first book, The Ends of the World, was a New York Times bestseller, and won the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award.

Publishing house:

Ecco

Year:

2018

Pages:

336

ISBN:

978-0062364814