If you ask who the historical "Rain God" is, you may not be able to answer. But if you ask who is the modern rain god of , most people surfing the Internet should be able to answer immediately, that is Xiao Jingteng . Wherever this "Rain God" goes, it rains, even in the desert.
Therefore, many people say that Xiao Jingteng cannot live in one place for a long time, otherwise there will really be "the flood flooded the Dragon King Temple" there. Of course, this is most likely just a character gimmick, used to make fun of.
But did you know? In fact, it once really rained on the earth for more than 2 million years . So, will such weather happen again in the future?
Floods washed away the Dragon King Temple
The Carnian flood event
People say that this long-lasting rain occurred in the Triassic period 233 million years ago , and it cannot be said that this rain fell for more than 200 years. Thousands of years, this is a bit exaggerated. actually means that during these more than 2 million years, the climate was relatively humid, with sunny days and less rainy days and more .
Therefore, sometimes people also call it "Carnian Moisture Curtain" . The environmental characteristics of this stage of include increased rainfall, increased carbon dioxide content, accelerated inland weathering and denudation, etc.
Reverie map of the late Triassic
The Carnian period is the first period of the Late Triassic , and the time when this event was first proposed was 1974 . Later, this typical climate and humidity change event attracted more attention from geologists, and they believed that its name should be Carnian Pluvial Episode, or CPE for short.
The research process of the Carnian flood event
According to the research results of scientists, the Carnian geological time has experienced the following development process.
First of all, the world was very dry during the Latin period, and the continuous eruptions of volcanoes from the Permian to the Triassic also caused more and more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In the greenhouse effect It is becoming increasingly obvious that the earth is like a "giant stew pot" .
Abnormal drought before rainfall
Finally, when the heat reached a certain point, it entered the second stage. Rainfall occurred in most areas of Europe and North America , and rainfall continued to increase .
In some areas, large-scale continuous rainfall occurred. Under this influence, the originally dry land gradually glowed with life. A large number of gymnosperms quickly sprouted from the ground , and the air became extremely humid.
Research shows that the marine sedimentary sequence has also begun to change. carbonate compensation depth has increased, and carbonate productivity has stagnated. It also almost all happened at the same time during this period. Ocean surface temperature, salinity, pH value, etc. Changes or loss of habitat led to the extinction of marine invertebrates, and at the same time new species of plants began to appear.
Large-scale rainfall
It can be seen that the frequent rainfall during these more than 2 million years has indeed solved all the problems that had occurred due to the dryness of the earth, but at the same time it also caused drastic changes in the entire environment.. Some animals that had adapted to their previous living environment died in this successive stage.
However, most experts believe that the mass extinction of organisms in the late Triassic was not caused by the Carnian flood event . It can only be said that it played a role in fueling the flames . Of course, the fueling here does not mean that the mass extinction of organisms is directly related to rainfall. It is itself related to the extinction of the Permian and the climate characteristics of the early Triassic.
Mass Extinction Event
So, why did the earth have such a weird climate at that time? What is the cause of the Carnian flood event ?
The cause model of the Carnian flood event
The first reason is that plate tectonics prompted the atmospheric circulation model system to change , because the continental plates at that time were not separated as they are now, but a whole continent. In the late Carboniferous Strong tectonic movements in the 19th century brought Laurasia and Gondwana together to form Pangea. This convergence and the uplift of the Central Mountains may have affected the global atmospheric circulation , super monsoon climate then was born.
During the Carnian period of the Triassic
200 million years ago, the giant monsoon reached its peak, causing a sudden increase in rainfall in low-latitude areas on the edge of Pangea. Coupled with the impact of local tectonic movements, the scope of influence involved the entire ancient times. Tethys ocean . Therefore, in the late Carnian period, monsoon circulation left many traces.
Monsoon circulation brings large-scale rainfall
followed by large-scale volcanic eruptions , causing the global climate to enter disorder . Studies of zircons in western North America have found that the eruption events occurred at very similar times to the extreme climate of the Carnian period.
Of course, the cause of the volcanic eruption here is more like paving the way for the occurrence of Carnian floods. After all, as we said above, when the earth's greenhouse effect reaches a certain limit, changes will occur.
Volcanic eruptions
Finally, most scholars believe that the occurrence of the Carnian flood event is difficult to attribute to a certain cause, but should be caused by the combined action of multiple factors.
Whether it was the early uplift of plateau mountains due to the Indosinian movement or the prelude to the climax of global volcanic movements, these factors jointly created the humid climate that lasted for more than
million years.
The climate is becoming more and more humid
It is worth mentioning that it seems that the earth's climate is indeed very changeable, and whenever times change and the climate suddenly changes, the creatures accustomed to the previous climate will disappear. So, will weather like still appear in the future? What will happen if humans encounter such extreme weather? Will weather like
appear in the future?
In recent years, extreme weather on the earth seems to occur more and more frequently, which makes many people worried about the earth's environment and climate. And among the prerequisites for the Carnian flood event we mentioned above, there happens to be the intense greenhouse effect of .
Extreme weather
However, you don’t have to worry too much , because according to the current situation, it is basically impossible for such weather to happen again. Even if some of our current practices are still "contributing to" the greenhouse effect, they are still not as good as that period.
You must know that at that time, the volcanoes on Pangea erupted continuously for millions of years. However, although the volcanoes on the earth now erupt occasionally, their scale and magnitude do not meet that requirement.
Greenhouse effect
Secondly, the distribution and form of across the entire continent has also changed. It is no longer just one piece as before. In this case, the absorption of carbon dioxide by various parts should be considerable, so it is difficult to let the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere accumulate to that extent.
Finally, although the current environmental situation on the earth is indeed very severe, people will use various methods to ease it . For example, when the hot summer comes, some high-temperature cities will carry out artificial rainfall to alleviate the impact of high temperature.
Artificial rainfall
But the natural chain reaction is always unexpected. It is difficult to say what new climate crisis our current actions on the environment will create in the future.
There may be a new climate crisis, more terrifying than the Carnian flood event. , and by that time, human civilization may officially withdraw from the earth just like other creatures that disappeared in previous mass extinctions. So, what kind of animal came to the forefront during this Carnian flood event?
The feverish earth
Dinosaurs succeeded in taking over
As we said in the previous article, before the heavy rain, the earth also experienced an extremely long drought period , and dinosaurs were not the protagonist at that time. Pseudosuchus originally held the throne, but with climate change, its food died one after another because it could not adapt to the new environment, eventually causing Pseudosuchus to also regrettably retire.
Pseudocrocodiles
And dinosaurs began to grow explosively during this period. Whether they were herbivores or carnivores, they relied on their long necks and strong bodies to shuttle through the woods moistened by heavy rains. Between , it officially sounded the clarion call for to dominate the earth and .
It can be seen that the advantages of a species in cannot be applied forever to . Species that were quite advantageous in the previous living environment may be eliminated when they usher in a new environment. Unless you choose to evolve and try your best to adapt to current needs, you will not be able to win a new war by relying on your old trump cards.
Dinosaurs have ushered in their own era
The throne of dominance on the earth has been in rotation. Without the extinction of dinosaurs, it would be impossible for mammals to achieve their supremacy. And humans cannot occupy this position forever, so when facing the next mass extinction of organisms, if we still have no ability to escape from the earth, we may have to wait for extinction.
What we have to do now is how to delay the next extreme change with and buy some more time for the development of science and technology. Even if cannot allow all mankind to survive the disaster, it can still leave some sporadic sparks of civilization .
After all, judging from the current research status, this is a "quite intelligent" species that has appeared since ancient times. This is our best weapon to save ourselves.
Relying on wisdom to solve the crisis
