Earth’s oceans became home to life, but then suddenly ceased to exist; Why?

More research is emerging from the depths of the waters of the Earth than we do the Moon, and new discoveries are being made all the time. According to recent research, oxygen increased life in the oceans of the Earth before abruptly disappearing. Researchers have studied the movement of continents to comprehend how life-sustaining oxygen circulates in the seas and how it may have the reverse effect, killing most deep-sea animals. According to the study, the flow of nutrients and oxygen might stop unexpectedly.

The results of the study, which were reported in the journal Nature, show that the geological history of atmospheric oxygen is commonly believed to have had a dominant influence on the early evolutionary history and a large portion of the history of extinction of marine species. In a statement, co-author of the study and UC Riverside geologist Andy Ridgwell stated, ‘Continental drift appears so sluggish, like nothing catastrophic could come from it, but when the ocean is primed, even a seemingly little event might cause the widespread extinction of marine species’.

PLAYING WITH OXYGEN
In the icy realm of the poles, where life is abundant across the seas, oxygen drawn from Earth’s atmosphere reaches the ocean floor and sparks life. At the poles, the water gets colder and denser, which causes it to sink and carry the oxygen with it. The organic material is subsequently returned to the ocean’s surface via a return flow, which encourages plankton development.

To find out if the placement of continental plates affects how the ocean distributes oxygen, researchers used sophisticated computer models. They discovered that there were occasional stops in the global ocean circulation. Periods, when marine oxygen vanished, are known as ocean anoxia.

‘Millions of years ago, shortly after the emergence of marine life, the whole global ocean circulation appeared to sporadically stop. We did not anticipate discovering that the movement of continents could prohibit oxygen and surface water from sinking, which might have had a significant impact on how life originated on Earth’, said Ridgwell. According to the study, the abrupt difference in oxygen concentration between the higher and lower depths was caused by the collapse in global water circulation. Except for areas along the coast, the whole seabed experienced this loss, and the shutdown persisted until 440 million years ago.

CAN THIS OCCUR AGAIN?
Researchers are attempting to determine when it might occur while still trying to understand whether it might occur. Although it is challenging to predict when or what may cause a collapse, they said that ‘current climate models show that growing global warming will decrease ocean circulation’.

‘To forecast a catastrophic extinction event, we would need a better resolution climate model’. However, Ridgwell said that there is evidence of a decline in the flow of water to depth in the North Atlantic now, and he added that a series of events may be set off by an abnormally warm summer or the erosion of a cliff, upending life as we know it today.