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Volume 14 Issue 12, December 2021

Volume 14 Issue 12

Nutrient-driven extinction in the Late Ordovician

Increased delivery of phosphorus to the Late Ordovician ocean from volcanism helps explain widespread cooling and eutrophication-driven extinctions, as shown by a biogeochemical model incorporating volcanic ash and carbon isotope records. The photograph shows Selenopeltis fossils, a genus of spiny trilobite that became extinct in the Late Ordovician — along with 85% of species of marine organisms. Locality: Mecissi-Alnif, Morocco. Photograph taken in the Oxford University Museum of Natural History.

See Longman et al.

Image: Thomas Gernon, University of Southampton. Cover Design: Alex Wing

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