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Palaeoclimate

Butterfly effect of shallow-ocean deoxygenation on past marine biodiversity

A geochemical study of an ancient mass-extinction event shows that only moderate expansion of oxygen-deficient waters along continental margins is needed to decimate marine biodiversity. This finding provides a stark warning of the possible consequences of human-driven ocean deoxygenation on life in Earth’s shallow oceans.

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Fig. 1: Ocean deoxygenation in the wake of large igneous province volcanism.

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Correspondence to Brian Kendall.

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Kendall, B. Butterfly effect of shallow-ocean deoxygenation on past marine biodiversity. Nat. Geosci. 16, 1080–1081 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01310-3

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