Massive volcanic eruptions about 55 million years ago near Greenland and Europe triggered a period of global warming, scientists said today.
During this period, known as the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM), sea surface temperatures rose by five degrees C in the tropics and more than six degrees C in the Arctic.
PETM lasted for 220,000 years and the eruptions, which pushed Greenland and north-west Europe apart to create the north Atlantic ocean, also resulted in increased acidification of the world’s oceans and the extinction of numerous deep-sea species.
inthenews.co.uk, 27 April 2007. Article.
