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Shanan Peters describes how the epic ebbs and flows of sea level have caused mass extinctions.
Researcher Shanan Peters describes how the epic ebbs and flows of sea level have caused mass extinctions over a significant stretch of Earth history. Over the past 540 million years, there have been five well-documented mass extinctions, primarily of marine plants and animals, with as many as 75-95 percent of species lost. Until recently, scientists have tended to view mass extinctions events as isolated incidents. Peters' study provides a common link for these mass extinctions and also reveals something about which species survives and which don't across these boundaries.
Credit: Video: National Science Foundation / University of Wisconsin; Images: Fossil: National Science Foundation / Bobcaygeon formation fossil: University of Wisconsin
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