Around 252 millions years ago life on Earth collapsed in a unprecedented fashion as more than 96 percent of marine species and 70 percent of land species disappeared. The cause of this severe extinction has been a mystery, until now. (Learn more: http://bit.ly/1McanIw)

MIT researchers have now determined the Siberian Traps erupted at the right time and for the right duration to have been a likely trigger for the endPermian extinction.

Video produced and edited by Melanie Gonick/MIT
Additional footage and stills: Henrik Svensen, Scott Simper and Seth Burgess
Music sampled from "Out" by Ryan Cross
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rya...
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