Front Cover Earth Extinctions

Front CoverFront Cover

i EarthExtinctionsEarthExtinctions

Earth Extinctions-7 Events

Douglas J. AlfordDouglas J. Alford

iiEarthExtinctionsEarthExtinctions

Teachers may copy this book for classroom use.

iii EarthExtinctionsEarthExtinctions

Page DescriptionV One Pager1 Life Bursts2 Earth Without Life4 Uncertain Place5 Big Bang Beginning6 Star Birth9 Our Solar System10 Hot Rocks11 Goldilocks Condition12 Sulfur Breathers13 Hot Spring14 OxygenExhalers17 I-OxyintheAir19 ExplosionofLife21 II-StarburstDeathRays24 Life Returns & Fish Evolve25 LifeMovestoLand26 III - Plants Soak-up CO228 Amphibians Evolve31 IV - Lots of Lava & Rotten Egg Smell32 HugeVolcanoExplosions33 Sulfur Breathers Return36 Pangea37 Age of Reptiles38 V-LandSplits&MoreLava40 DinosaursThrive43 VI-AsteroidsImpactandDinosDie45 MammalsSurvive47 Humans Evolve49 VII-NextExtinctionEventisNow50 HuntedtoExtinction51 Positive Note52 World Population53 Human Actions55 Pollute Less57 Improve Home Planet58 ExploretoEndure59 Credits60 EarthExtinctionSummary

Earth ExtinctionsTable of Contents

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Human’sonlyhome,earth,hasalonghistoryofkillingoffthecreaturesthat live here. Where are the dinosaurs, mammoths and megalodons? All dead along with over 99% of the life forms that have ever lived here. Wehavetwochoicesultimateextinctionorexploreandsettleinthesuburbs of space. All human advancements are steps in our stride to live beyondearthinspace.Meanwhile,let`stakegoodcareofourcurrenthome,leastpeople-madebethecauseofourownextinction.

Today, our Earth is full of Life! The Earth is billions of years old. Scientists think that 99% of the Life that haseverlivedonEarthisnowextinct.Whathappened?ThisbookisabouttheScientificGuess,calledTheories, ofwhatcausedSevenEarthExtinctionEvents.

Earth ExtinctionsIntro

1)GreatOxygenEvent

2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7)HumanCaused ?

v EarthExtinctionsEarthExtinctions

ONE PAGERONE PAGER

1) GOE1) GOE

2) STARBurst2) STARBurst

3) Too Cold3) Too Cold4) Biggest4) Biggest

5) Too Hot5) Too Hot

6)DinosDie6)DinosDie

7)HumanMade7)HumanMade

Fossils show us fascinating creatures that once lived onearth.ManytimesduringEarth’slonghistory, events wiped out most of the life on our planet.

EarthExtinctionsEarthExtinctions

Today, our world bursts with so much life.

It is hard to imagine the earth without life.

Thisisexactlywhathashappened duringearth’slonghistory. Repeatedly, something causes most ofearth’slifetosuddenlyendin “BigDie”eventscalledmassextinctions.

3 EarthExtinctionsEarthExtinctions

Our Earth home is an uncertain place inaspiralinggalaxyinspace.

OurStoryaboutlife’ssurvivalstartsbillions of years ago when a Big Bang or something else created hydrogen (H) atoms.

Gravity pulls swirling H atoms together into a big ball. We call them Suns. The stars we see in the night sky are actually lots of far away Suns.

Under the right heat and pressure, the H atoms join together to make one helium atom. In the process, heat and light are given off. Over time, the helium atoms join together to make otherelementslikeoxygen,carbonandiron.

Billionsofyearslater,thestardies.Itdoesn’tjustdwindle until the lights go out. Nope, stars die by exploding.Inagiantburst,theyscatterelementsthroughout the universe. The process repeats.

Over 4 billion years ago, our Sun formed from swirling Hatoms.CirclingintheSun’sgravity,elementsofprevious star bursts come together to make the Earth.

Forthefirstbillionyearsorso,theEarthis like hell. The earth is very hot and constantly bombarded by space rocks and comets.About 3 billion years ago, earth begins the Goldilocks Condition.

It is not too hot nor too cold. Earth is the right temperature range. Whether seeded from space rocks or home grown, Earth life begins. Built from stardust elements, single cell Earth life thrives. It is important to realize that earth at this distant time is very different than today. The air has very little oxygen.

Earth’sfirstairisfullofhydrogensulfide, methane,carbon-dioxide(CO2).Inshallowseas,Earth’sfirstone-celllifeevolves.Thesulfurbreathingbacteriatakeinsulfides,usesunshine for photosynthesis to get energy. Hydrogen sulfidesmellslikerotteneggs.Goodthing theonecelllifeformsdon’thavenoses.

sulfur breathing bacteriasulfur breathing bacteria

As a sidenote, from space, ancient Earth may have looked purple.

Toseewhatearth’sfirstlifeislike,wecan notice their cousins at hot springs today. The orange color is a bacteria-like single cell life form. It lives withoutoxygen.Infact,oxygenkillsthesulfurbreathers.Moretocomeonthislater.

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cyanobacteriacyanobacteria

About 2 billion years ago, competing bacteria evolvetobreatheinCO2andbreatheoutoxygen.They use sunshine to change the CO2 into energy tolive.Theseoxygenexhalersareover100times more powerful than the sulfur breathers.

StromatoliteStromatolite

cyanobacteriacyanobacteria

Overthenextbillionyearsorso,theseblue-green bacteria spread throughout the oceans.Theairstartstocontainoxygen.

Atfirst,thenewoxygenintheairreactswithotherearthelementslikeiron.Oxygenmakesironrust. These rocks were once sand that contain gray iron.Theironabsorbedoxygenandturnedrustyred.

I - Oxy in the Air 1) GOE1) GOE

Overtime,oxygenincreasesintheair.The oxygenkillsmostofthesulfurbreathers.This isthefirstofearth’smassextinctionevents.It iscalledtheGreatOxygenationEvent(GOE).Some of the sulfur breathers survive by living deepintheoceaninoxygen-freeareaslikehotvents that are rich in sulfur. They are beaten inthisroundoflife’scompetitionbuttheywait patiently for the right conditions to return.

blue-green algaeblue-green algae

Lifecontinuestoevolveinthesea.Differenttype of single cell life evolve that breathe out moreandmoreoxygenintotheearth’sair.

CambrianExplosionCambrianExplosion

Next,multicellularanimalsthatbreathein oxygenevolve.About550 million years ago or MYA,thereisan“explosionoflife.”Manydifferenttypesofanimalsevolve.Jellyfish,squidsandlilly-likecreaturesallflourishintheoxygenrichseas.

These animals have no backbones.

II-Starburst Death Rays 2) STARBurst2) STARBurst

Fossil records show that suddenly about450MYA,mostofearth’slifedies.

SuperNovaSuperNova gamma raysgamma rays

Life BeforeLife Before AfterAfter

CrinoidsCrinoids

OrthocerasOrthoceras

OrdovicianOrdovician

ThecauseofthesecondBigDiemayhave been gamma ray radiation that hit the earthfromahugeexploding"nearby"star.

Thiscausesmuchofearth’soxygen tobelost.Withoutoxygen,theanimals -whobreatheoxygen-die.

blue green algaeblue green algae

Overtime, blue green algae and their cousins make more oxygen.Lifecontinuestoevolve.

Inthesea,fishevolve with many shapes and sizes.

Plants continue to evolve and diversify all over the Earth.

Thethirdmassextinctionisabout370MYA.ThereisaninterestingtheorythatplantscausethisBigDie.Plantsabsorbsomuch CO2 from the air that there is global cooling.

III-Plants Soak-up so much CO2, Earth becomes Too Cold 3) Too Cold3) Too Cold

With less CO2 in the air around the earth, the global temperature falls. Polar ice increases and theoceanoxygenlevelfalls.Manytypesoffish becomeextinct.Mostofearth’slifedies.

Slowly life recovers. Around 360 MYA,amphibiansevolvefromfish.They spend time in the water and on the land.

The world at this time has warmer weather, shallow seas, and vast swamp forests. There are large insects and lots of amphibians. This time is known as the age of the amphibians.

Carboniferous PeriodCarboniferous Period

Ancestors of reptiles and mammals evolve too.

Lifecontinuestoevolveuntilabout250MYA. ThereisafourthBigDie.Itisthebiggestsofar.

IV - Lots of Lava and Return of Rotten Egg SmellTOO HOT

dimetrodondimetrodon

gorgonopsidgorgonopsid

EryopsEryops

4) Biggest4) Biggest

There are huge volcano eruptions in Siberia. ThevolcanoesandlavaflowsarethesizeofWesternEurope. Lots of CO2 and sulfur enter the air. ExcessCO2causesglobalwarming.Theworldistoohot for life. It is a fact that hot water holds less oxygenthancoldwater.Seaanimalsbreathoxygen that is dissolved in the water to live. When the amountofoxygeninthewaterfalls,oceananimalsdie.

PermianExtinctionEventPermianExtinctionEvent

But there is another effect of the lower oxygenandhighersulfurlevels.Rememberthe sulfur breathing bacteria? You know the ones whose ancestors were wiped out in the firstmassextinction?Welltheyhavebeenwaiting for the right conditions to come back. That is what happens. Over time, they make so much Sulfuric acid that it helps kill most of the plants and animals. When the volcanoes and killer clouds of rotten egg gas are over - most of the life forms on earth are dead.

sulfur breathing bacteriasulfur breathing bacteria

One of the survivors was Lystrosaurus, a mammal-like reptile.

Because almost all earth life died, it takes millions of years for life to slowly recover. New plants and animals evolve.

At this time, all the land on earth is joined in one super continent called Pangea. The outlines above show theshapesoftoday’scontinents.

Pangea SupercontinentPangea Supercontinent

Archosaurs are common. They are ancestors to dinosaurs and crocodiles.

37BEarthExtinctionsEarthExtinctions

Overthespanof50MillionYears, life evolves. This Triassic Period is the start of the Age of Reptiles.

37C EarthExtinctionsEarthExtinctions

Duringthistimethefirstdinosaursevolve. They are one of many types of creatures that compete for survival

37DEarthExtinctionsEarthExtinctions

Triassic Seas are full of life.

37E EarthExtinctionsEarthExtinctions

ThefifthBigDieisabout200MYA.To understandwhathappensnext,needtoknow thattheearth’ssurfaceislikeathincrust floatingonhot,oftenmoltenrock.

Overthenextmillionorsoyears,moltenlava burps more CO2 and sulfur into the air. The volcanic pressure from below starts to push apart the super continent of Pangea.

V - Land Splits & More Lava

TriassicExtinctionTriassicExtinction

5) Too Hot5) Too Hot

Likethepreviousmassextinction,CO2 causesglobalwarming.Next,followsthe lossofoceanoxygen.Thesulfurbreathers again burp out poisonous rotten egg gas. Between the global warming and the stinky smell,muchoftheworld’slifedies including many of the mammal-like animals.

CoelophysisCoelophysis

Some rat-sized mammals survive.

With their competition gone, dinosaurs survive and thrive.

Dinosaursevolveintoplanteaters like triceratops and brachiosaurus.

Dinosaursalsoevolveintomeat eaters like tyrannosaurus and raptors. Dinosaursruletheworld for over a hundred million years.

Dinosaurswithmanyshapesandsizes, rule the world for over 100 million years.

42CEarthExtinctionsEarthExtinctions

People make movies with Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) dinosaurs that help us see what their world looked like.

Fair Use - Universal PicturesFair Use - Universal Pictures

Suddenly,around65MYA,asteroidshittheearthandcausethesixthBigDie.Thecollisionfillstheairaroundtheearthwithdust. The dust blocks the sun. Plants die, then the plant eating dinosaurs die.

VI - Asteroids Impact and Dinos Die

6)DinosDie6)DinosDie

Next,themeateatingdinosaursdie. The land and sea are full of death.

Decomposersthrive.Ancientmammals survive by eating worms and insects.

Overthenexttensofmillions of years, other life forms evolve.

After billions of years in work, now is the part of evolution with people in it.

Over millions of years, our distant ancestors evolve from hominids to humans.

Over a 100,000 years ago, our direct human relatives evolve. They have bigger brains and the ability to make tools.

Withfireandforaging, humans start to change their environment.

VII - Next Extinction Event is Now 7)HumanMade7)HumanMade

50AEarthExtinctionsEarthExtinctions

People hunted many animals like the giant mammothsandgroundsloths-toextinction.

50B EarthExtinctionsEarthExtinctions

Over 10 thousand years ago, people started planting cropsandkeepingcattleandotherfoodanimals.Next,People madethefirstcities.AlloftheseactivitiesimpacttheEarth.

SumerSumer

Anotherexampleisinthe1800’s,millionsofAmerican Buffaloes were killed until there were only a few thousand left. This picture shows a pile of buffalo skulls.

50CEarthExtinctionsEarthExtinctions

On a positive note. People worked together to conserve and preserve the Buffaloes. Now days, there are over 500,000 Buffaloes.

The more people, the higher impact on the environment.The number of people, worldwide was 2 Billion in the year 1930, 6 Billion in 2000 and about 8 Billion today.

We Humans change the Earth with our Actions!

Humanactivitiesarecausingthe7thExtinctionEvent!Our crops, chemicals and cities impact the Earth.We destroy the habitat and homes of plants and animals. Our factories and inventions pollute our environment.

Each of us can help take better care of our Earth home. We work together to: Preserve Plants; Protect Animals and Pollute Less

Manytimesduringearth’slonghistory,most of the life here has died. Earth's fossil record providesawarningandmotivationforus.May welearnaboutthecausesofpastextinctionevents,

Mayweacttodaytoimprove how we take care of our home planet!

ReduceReduce

Re-useRe-use

One day, our Earth will have another massextinction.MayweworkwithSciencetoimplementcuresbeforethenextBigDieoccurs. Another way to ensure the human raceendures,istofindotherhomes amongst the cosmic suburbs of space.

We evolved from ape-like ancestors. Ournextstepistobespaceexplorers that our humanity, knowledge and inventions, along with us will survive thenextglobalcatastrophe.

ExploretoEndure

Page Descriptioni Carcharodontosaurus by Franko Fonseca.1 Blue_Linckia_StarfishbyRichardLing2 worldwide happy media3 spiritLake2012Treemat02 by Stephan Schulz10 Lunar_cataclysm by Timwether14 Tolypothrix_CyanobacteriabyMatthewjparker16 Cathedral_rock_sedona_arizona by Tomas Castelazo18 Cyanobacteria_016 by Author Lamiot.19 Cnidaria_Luc_Viatour by Luc Viatour21 Fossile-seelilie.byMagnusManske21 OrdovicianOrthoceras_MarocbyParentGéry23 Cyanobacteria_023 by Lamiot24 DevonianFishesDunkleosteus_terrelli_2byKevmin25 Cooksonia_pertoni_revisedbyPetercoxhead25 LateDevonianStylonurus_BWbyNobuTamura28 Labyrinthodontia by Own Work by Pavel Riha 29 GorgonopsiaInostrancevia_4DBbyDmitryBogdanov31 Gorgonopsid_skull by Cradle of Humankind34 Permian Lystrosaurus_BW by ArthurWeasley36 PangaeabySrtxg37 Pancrocodylia_diversityArthurWeasleyDiDgb39 PostosuchusbyAuthorDallasKrentzel39 Tritylodontid Oligokyphus_BW by Nobu Tamura 40 SaltriosaurotetanuraebyZeuslnx41 Triceratops_BW by Nobu Tamura42 Tyrannosaurus_Rex_coloredbyLadyofHats43 Asteroid_falling_to_Earth by State Farm44 Tyrannosaurus_rexbyDavidMonniaux45 Arthur Weasley45 Soebe47 Human-evolution-manbyJosé-manuelBenitos48 Homo_habilisbyCiceroMoraes52 DirkvdM_santa_fe_scorchedDirkvanderMade

All other pictures are from the public domain

Credits

2) Starbursts (450MYA)NearbyexplodingstarshowersEarth with gamma rays that stripawaytheoxygen. Oxygenbreathersdie.

4) Biggest (250MYA)Huge volcanoes send CO2 and Sulfur into theair.MostofEarth-life dies.

6) Crash (65MYA)Asteroids crash into Earth and kick up dust. Manyplantsandanimalsdie.

Earth Extinctions - Summary

1) Oxygen (Billions of Years Ago)Newcyanobacteriaexhaleoxygenthatkillsthesulfur breathingbacteria.Oxygenbuildsupintheworldwideair.

3) Too Cold (370MYA)Plants soak-up so much CO2 that it cause the Earth to be too cold.

5) Too Hot (200MYA)Morelava,CO2andSulfur.MuchLifedies.

7) Human (Now)Human actions cause thecurrentExtinctionEvent. We can cure it too with care for our planet.

Back CoverBack Cover

Mostofthelifethathaslivedonearthisnow extinct.Thisbookexplainswhathappened. The quest now is how to keep human-kind from becomingfuturefossilsinthenext“BigDie.”

Front Cover Earth Extinctions

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