Timeline of a Mass Extinction

While the causes of this global catastrophe known as the end-Permian extinstion are unknown, Dan Rothman and co-workers, including EAPS Sam Bowring, have now established that it was extremely rapid, triggering massive die-outs both in the oceans and on land in less than 20,000 years — the blink of an eye in geologic time. The researchers also found that this time period coincides with a massive buildup of atmospheric carbon dioxide, which likely triggered the simultaneous collapse of species in the oceans and on land. 

Read more at MIT News.