Erosion of the ozone layer 360 million years ago was responsible for a mass extinction - Daily Mail

A mass extinction 360 million years ago that killed off many of the Earth's plants and freshwater animals was caused by a breakdown of the ozone layer.

Study authors warn that we could face a similar scenario as we head towards similar global temperatures that existed 359 million years ago due to climate change.

Lead researcher Professor John Marshall said the ozone shield - that protects the Earth from harmful UV radiation - vanished for a short period of time.

This was at the end of the Devonian geological period, 359 million years ago.

Other types of mass extinctions include an asteroid hitting the Earth 66 million years ago causing dinosaur extinction and a huge scale continental volcanic eruption that destabilised the Earth's atmosphere and ocean 252 million years ago.

Study authors warned that the Earth could reach similar temperatures, triggering a possible extinction event on the same scale - if something isn't done to slow the pace of climate change.

The team collected rock samples from mountainous polar-regions in East Greenland, the lake was situated in the Earth's southern hemisphere 350 million years ago.

The Devonian period - from 419 million to 359 million years ago - ended with a mass extinction. .

The scientists concluded that, during a time of rapid global warming, the ozone layer collapsed for a short period, exposing life on Earth to harmful levels of UV radiation.

This then trigged a mass extinction event on land and in shallow water at the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary.

Researchers visited Greenland to get samples from ancient lakes in order to identify the cause of the mass extinction 359 million years ago.

Professor Marshall said: 'Current estimates suggest we will reach similar global temperatures to those of 360 million years ago, with the possibility that a similar collapse of the ozone layer could occur again.'.

The first of the traditional big five extinction events, around 540 million years ago, was probably the second most severe

About 375-359 million years ago, major environmental changes caused a drawn-out extinction event that wiped out major fish groups and stopped new coral reefs forming for 100 million years

The largest extinction event and the one that affected the Earth's ecology most profoundly took place 252 million years ago

The rapid mass extinction that occurred 201 million years ago changed that

An asteroid slammed down on Earth 66 million years ago, and is often blamed for ending the reign of the dinosaurs