Earth, our home planet, has experienced many catastrophic events in its long history. Asteroid strikes, colliding continents, seismic eruptions and the arrival of destructive species have all been part of life on Earth for some 4.5 billion years. And while these events may seem horrific, they capture viewers’ attention and offer us a unique opportunity to immerse ourselves in our planet’s most epic and destructive moments.
A new series from the BBC and celebrity broadcaster and wildlife advocate Chris Packham called Earth allows us to look at the history of our planet through the lens of its most tragic moments. The series consists of five parts, each telling the story of different periods and events that shaped the fate of the Earth.
Earth’s history is divided into eras, periods, eras and centuries. Today, we may be entering the Anthropocene, the era in which human activity has had the greatest impact on the planet. But when it comes to the worst day for Earth, it was probably during the Permian extinction.
Many people consider the dinosaur extinction to be the most significant event in the history of the planet. It has become famous because of the enormous amount of attention given to dinosaurs. But the Permian extinction actually resulted in a much higher percentage of extinct species across the planet.
The Permian extinction, also known as the Great Extinction, wiped out about 96 percent of marine species and 70 percent of terrestrial species on Earth. It was a devastating time for biodiversity, but it was also an integral part of the evolution of new life on the planet.
By observing the release of poisonous gases from the crevices of volcanic rock, we can see that the Earth and the life on it has an amazing ability to recover. Even when the landscape becomes a veritable hellscape, life finds a way to survive and adapt to changing conditions.
One of the key events of the Permian extinction event was the eruption of the Siberian Trapps, which lasted two million years. The result was a huge amount of lava that could cover an area the size of Australia. Many animals died directly from this eruption, but the geological evidence of the time shows that life was disappearing everywhere – as can be seen today in the “death line” preserved in the rocks of the Schiliar-Catinaccio Natural Park in South Tyrol, Italy.
The eruption of the Siberian Trapps caused global temperatures to rise by 10 °C (18 °F), depleting the Earth’s ozone layer and making it nearly uninhabitable. However, even under such extreme conditions, life on the planet was able to survive and continue to exist.
“One of the most impressive traits of life on Earth is its resilience,” says Chris Packham. “It either waits patiently for change and finds opportunities to thrive, or it recovers from significant environmental changes.”
Earth’s history is full of catastrophic moments, but it also shows us the incredible ability of life to adapt and survive. We can learn from our planet, which has already survived so much hardship and still persists.
