Carbon News
  • Members
    • Login
      Forgot Password?
    • Not a member? Subscribe
    • Forgot Password
      Back to Login
    • Not a member? Subscribe
  • Home
  • New Zealand
    • Politics
    • Energy
    • Agriculture
    • Carbon emissions
    • Transport
    • Forestry
    • Business
  • Markets
    • Analysis
    • NZ carbon price
  • International
    • Australia
    • United States
    • China
    • Europe
    • United Kingdom
    • Canada
    • Asia
    • Pacific
    • Antarctic/Arctic
    • Africa
    • South America
    • United Nations
  • News Direct
    • Media releases
    • Climate calendar
  • About Carbon News
    • Contact us
    • Advertising
    • Subscribe
    • Service
    • Policies

Antarctic expedition unearths clues to climate catastrophe

15 May 2025

Media release | Rocks from the coldest continent hold clues to an extinction event 183 million years ago.

Antarctic rocks brought back from the continent by University of Auckland scientists hold clues to an extinction event 183 million years ago.


In the Early Jurassic period when the Gondwana supercontinent was breaking apart, hot magma rising through the Earth’s crust triggered the release of vast amounts of climate-warming carbon into the atmosphere with catastrophic results for many life-forms.


A team led by Professor James Muirhead of the School of Environment is probing exactly how the event unfolded.


During a 42-day expedition ending in February, they braved windchill temperatures of as low as -37 degrees Celsius, helicoptered to remote areas in the largely snow- and ice-free McMurdo Dry Valleys, and chiselled or sledgehammered at igneous and sedimentary rocks for samples.

 

Now, a dozen fish bins’ worth of Antarctic rock will be prepared by PhD student Katie Gilchrist for analysis at the University and at a University of Otago paleomagnetic research facility.


The scientists are focused on the Ferrar Large Igneous Province, the name for an area of volcanic intrusions stretching across Antarctica which resulted from hot magma flowing through the upper levels of the Earth’s crust toward the surface.


The aim is to reconstruct how the magma burned off the organic carbon locked up in sedimentary rocks to release greenhouse gas. Analysing the rocks may reveal the rate of heating and the rate of carbon release – and hence give a sense of whether the event was sufficiently powerful in itself to cause the dramatic climate effects.

 

The Early Jurassic event somewhat parallels what’s happening on Earth today, including the environmental stresses on living things – except one was a natural release of organic carbon, while the other is human-caused.


“Scientifically, the field season was a great success,” says Muirhead. “We managed to achieve all of our objectives for each of the sites, despite some difficulties with weather and accessing some of the outcrops.”


“It was quite a workout,” says Gilchrist. “We hiked for many kilometres across five sites carrying large packs with our survival gear and on multiple occasions returned to camp with more than 20 kilograms of samples in our packs.”


New Zealand’s Scott Base team helped with logistics for the visiting group of Muirhead, Gilchrist, Masters student Zoe Armstrong, guide Bia Boucinhas, and Australian researcher Dr Sandra Rodrigues.


Mostly, temperatures with wind chill were -20 to -25 degrees Calcius and the weather was good. Coldest was Mount Fleming at a wind chill temperature of -37 degrees Calcius during a blizzard with wind speeds of 100 km/h that confined the group to camp.

print this story


Related Topics:   Adaptation Science

More >
Media releases
More >

Biodiversity plan is ‘light on detail and heavy on vague intentions’

Tue 1 Jul 2025

Media Release - WWF New Zealand | The government’s plan to tackle Aotearoa New Zealand’s biodiversity crisis lacks ambition and fails to match the scale and urgency of the challenge.

Gas decline increases urgency for new electricity generation

Tue 1 Jul 2025

Media release – Transpower | Declining gas availability means New Zealand has to lift the pace at which it is delivering new electricity generation to reliably meet growing demand over the coming years, a new report from Transpower shows.

Hopeful new way to measure human progress

Mon 30 Jun 2025

Media release - University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau | In response to the climate crisis, a new way to measure how well people and nature are living together has been announced in the world's leading scientific journal Nature.

Sustainability rising in importance amid increasing strain on professionals

26 Jun 2025

Media release - Sustainable Business Council | Research released today into New Zealand’s sustainability profession reveals a compelling picture of a profession which is gaining strategic traction, while grappling with systemic challenges.

Most staple food crop production will face big losses due to climate change

25 Jun 2025

Media Release – Springer Nature | Most staple food crops are expected to experience substantial production losses due to climate change, even when mitigation measures to limit the impact of climate change are considered.

Latest trawl bycatch numbers 'a grim wake-up call'

24 Jun 2025

Media release – Greenpeace | The latest fisheries bycatch data paints a grim picture, with trawlers hauling up thousands of kilograms of coral and killing hundreds of fur seals and seabirds over a 12 month period.

Global survey finds 8 out of 10 people support taxing oil and gas corporations to pay for climate damages

23 Jun 2025

Media Release – Oxfam Aotearoa | Oxfam's research finds that 585 of the world's largest and most polluting fossil fuel companies made $583 billion in profits in 2024, a 68% increase since 2019.

Kiwi farmers unaware of positive public opinion on their environmental performance

19 Jun 2025

Media Release | Close to 90% of NZ's commercial farmers believe their environmental performance is good, according to a survey of almost 3000 farmers, while less than half that number think the public agrees.

Aviation sector’s climate claims unsupported by credible transition plans

18 Jun 2025

Media Release | New analysis finds over-reliance on Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and lack of investment in zero-emission tech, risking long-term decarbonisation failure.

Government undermines regional powers to protect coastal biodiversity

16 Jun 2025

Media Release | The Environmental Defence Society opposes the Government’s decision to press ahead with amendments to the Resource Management Act that severely curtail the ability of regional councils to manage the impacts of fishing on coastal marine biodiversity.

Carbon News

Subscriptions, Advertising & General

[email protected]

Editorial

[email protected]

We welcome comments, news tips and suggestions - please also use this address to submit all media releases for News Direct).

Useful Links
Home About Carbon News Contact us Advertising Subscribe Service Policies
New Zealand
Politics Energy Agriculture Carbon emissions Transport Forestry Business
International
Australia United States China Europe United Kingdom Canada Asia Pacific Antarctic/Arctic Africa South America United Nations
Home
Markets
Analysis NZ carbon price
News Direct
Media releases Climate calendar

© 2008-2025 Carbon News. All Rights Reserved. • Your IP Address: 216.73.216.55 • User account: Sign In

Please wait...
Audit log: