Preview
Description
Just 37 million years after the Permo-Triassic mass extinction, the Triassic Period comes to an end with another mass extinction. It will require 100 million years for biodiversity levels to recover from the combination of these two neighboring devastations of life.
New species evolve. Diatoms with magnificent silica microshells appear and spread quickly throughout the seas. These micro mineral-magicians extract and cycle silica and other elements from the oceans.
Before these creatures evolved, the oceans were supersaturated with soluble silica. As each silica-forming group arose, silica concentrations decreased. Major accumulations of biogenic opal begin to cover the ocean floors of the world.
Date Created
1997
Holding Institution
University of Montana--Missoula. Environmental Studies Program
Rights Statement
Rights Holder
© 1997 Stiftung Drittes Millennium
Item Type
Exhibit
Digital File Format
image/jpeg
Media Type
Text; Image
Digital Image Number
73_wtt_file04_60-79.jpg
Recommended Citation
Liebes, Sid; Mittelstadt, Laurie; Waugh, Barbara; and Brynes, Lois, "Panel 73: Silicon Symmetry: Triassic-Jurassic Mass Extinction" (1997). A Walk Through Time - From Stardust To Us. 73.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/awalkthroughtime/73