Double bubble.Maybe there was a belch belch v. To expel stomach gas noisily through the mouth; burp. of hydrogen sulfide hydrogen sulfide, chemical compound, H2S, a colorless, extremely poisonous gas that has a very disagreeable odor, much like that of rotten eggs. It is slightly soluble in water and is soluble in carbon disulfide. involved in the Permian extinctions ("Last Gasp: Toxic gas could explain great extinction," SN: 5/28/05, p. 339). However, did it leave some geological trace, as did the vast Siberian outpourings of magma, both on land and in the sea, over the course of a million years during the period? STAN SKIRVIN, SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ ARIZ Arizona (old style) . The ocean venting proposed by Lee Kump's group at Pennsylvania State University Pennsylvania State University, main campus at University Park, State College; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered 1855, opened 1859 as Farmers' High School. doesn't refute that major volcanic eruptions contributed to the Permian extinction. The two phenomena could have combined their lethal effects. Some geologic evidence exists for ocean venting, such as fossil signs that hydrogen sulfide--producing bacteria lived unusually close to the surface in the Permian ocean. However, no direct evidence for high atmospheric concentrations of hydrogen sulfide gas has yet been found. |
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