250 million years ago, long before dinosaurs roamed the Earth, the land and oceans teemed with life. This was the Permian, a golden era of biodiversity that was about to come to a crashing end. Within just a few thousand years, 95% of the lifeforms on the planet would be wiped out, in the biggest mass extinction Earth has ever known. What natural disaster could kill on such a massive scale? It is only in recent years that evidence has begun to emerge from rocks in Antarctica, Siberia and Greenland. The demise of the dinosaurs, 65 million years ago (at the so-called K/T boundary), was as nothing compared to the Permian mass extinction. The K/T event killed off 60% of life on Earth; the Permian event 95%. Geological data to explain the destruction have been hard to find, simply because the rocks are so old and therefore subject to all kinds of erosion processes. It seems plausible that some kind of catastrophic environmental change must have made life untenable across vast swathes of the planet. In the early 1990s, the hunt for evidence headed for a region of Siberia known as the Traps. Today it's a sub-Arctic wilderness but 250 million years ago, over 200,000km² of it was a blazing torrent of lava. The Siberian Traps were experiencing a 'flood basalt eruption', the biggest volcanic effect on Earth. Instead of isolated volcanoes spewing out lava, the crust split and curtains of lava were released. And the Siberian flood eruption lasted for millions of years. Could volcanic activity over such a long time alter the climate enough to kill off 95% of life on Earth?
| Title | Horizon - Season 39 Episode 17 : The Day the Earth Nearly Died |
|---|---|
| Alternative Titles | BBC Horizon |
| Subtitle Available |
 ETC.
|
| First Air Date | 1964-02-04 |
| Last Air Date | 2024-07-22 |
| Number of Episodes | 1169 |
| Number of Seasons | 60 |
| Genres | Documentary, |
| Networks | BBC Two, |
| Casts | |
| Plot Keywords | , |
Episodes List
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 1 Helike - The Real Atlantis Helike - The Real Atlantis
2002-01-10Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 2 Volcano Hell Volcano Hell
2002-01-17Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 3 Fatbusters Fatbusters
2002-01-24Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 4 The Lost Pyramids of Caral The Lost Pyramids of Caral
2002-01-31Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 5 Death of the Iceman Death of the Iceman
2002-02-07Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 6 Parallel Universes Parallel Universes
2002-02-14Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 7 The Dinosaur that Fooled the World The Dinosaur that Fooled the World
2002-02-21Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 8 The Fall of the World Trade Center The Fall of the World Trade Center
2002-03-07Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 9 Archimedes' Secret Archimedes' Secret
2002-03-14Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 10 The Mystery of the Jurassic The Mystery of the Jurassic
2002-03-28Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 11 Killer Lakes Killer Lakes
2002-04-04Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 12 The A6 Murder The A6 Murder
2002-05-16Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 13 The England Patient The England Patient
2002-05-23Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 14 Freak Wave Freak Wave
2002-11-14Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 15 Stone Age Columbus Stone Age Columbus
2002-11-21Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 16 Homeopathy: The Test Homeopathy: The Test
2002-11-26Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 17 The Day the Earth Nearly Died The Day the Earth Nearly Died
2002-12-05Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 18 The Secret of El Dorado The Secret of El Dorado
2002-12-19Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
