This work reports the chemical and light extinction characteristics of the atmospheric particles collected from January to November 2014 in suburban Nanjing. Size-segregated measurement results showed that more than 80% of the major aerosol components were concentrated in PM2.5. The concentration of PM2.5 was highest in winter and lowest in autumn. Specifically, K+ concentration peaked in late ...

Abstract The Cretaceous–Paleogene mass extinction event 66 million years ago eradicated three quarters of marine and terrestrial species globally. However, previous studies based on vertebrates suggest that freshwater biota were much less affected. Here we assemble a time series European gastropod occurrences inferred rates covering the past 200 years. We find increased by more than one order m...

The biggest known mass extinction in the history of animal life occurred at Permian–Triassic boundary and has often been linked to global warming. Previous studies have suggested that a geologically rapid (<40 kyr) temperature increase more than 10°C simultaneously with main pulse. This hypothesis is challenged by geochemical palaeontological data indicating profound environmental perturbations...

The end-Permian mass extinction is well-known as the most severe mass extinction of the Phanerozoic. Terrestrial communities appear to have been strongly affected by the event, but the cause of the extinction remains enigmatic. Here we explore whether primary producer disruption (e.g., extinction of terrestrial plants) could have led to a collapse of end-Permian terrestrial ecosystems, using mo...