"Even though there is proof of water on Mars, is it still possible for life to exist on Mars with the atmosphere consisting of mostly carbon dioxide?"
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Seminar Detail
The Great Mass Extinction - a Sudden Event or a Slow Moving Train-Wreck?
Presenter: Roger Summons (Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, MIT)
November 24, 2008 11:00 AM Pacific
A great mass extinction took place 252 million years ago when approximately 90% of the existing marine taxa were lost. Both the magnitude of the extinction and the slowness of the subsequent faunal radiation are enigmatic. The event is also known for the number and diversity of theories about its cause(s) including catastrophic volcanism, sudden climate change, overturn of stagnant oceans and bolide impact. Studies of molecular fossils confirm that the oceans were stagnant (euxinic) for some considerable period of time before and after the main biological turnover. Accordingly this event appears to be the culmination of particular paleo-oceanographic circumstances that happened on a geological timescale.
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2) You can watch the Realplayer webcast at: http://vanseg-1.arc.nasa.gov/2008/AB081124-01.ram and view the slides in WebEx (see WebEx instructions above) There is a 30 second delay for the webcast, so you will need to control the slides manually using the arrow buttons in WebEx. Questions for the speaker can be posted in the WebEx chat area to be answered at the end of the talk. Do not try to watch the Realplayer webcast at the same time as the Polycom or the phone.December 21, 2007
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