What is the Emeishan Traps?
Q: What is the Emeishan Traps?
A: The Emeishan Traps is a flood basalt volcanic province in Southwestern China, around Sichuan province. It consists of step-like rock made up of many layers of basalt, which were laid down by successive eruptions of magma that began about 260 million years ago.
Q: How does the size of the Emeshian Traps compare to other large igneous provinces?
A: The Emeshian traps are much smaller than the Siberian Traps, which occurred not long afterwards, about 251 million years ago.
Q: What impact did the Emeshian Traps have on ecology and paleontology?
A: Despite its small size compared to other large igneous provinces, the Emeshian traps were large enough to have an impact on the ecology and paleontology of the time. They are part of the mass extinction events towards the end of the Permian period.
Q: What theory has been proposed to explain mass extinctions?
A: One theory that has been proposed to explain mass extinctions is that meteor or comet impact events caused them. In this context, it is hypothesized that impact events cause flood basalt eruptions such as those which generated the Emeshian Traps. This hypothesis is not widely supported.
Q: When did eruptions leading to formation of Emeishan traps begin?
A: The eruptions leading to formation of Emeishan traps began about 260 million years ago.
Q: How do volcanism and mass extinctions relate?
A: The end-Guadalupian extinction occurred at almost same time as when Emeishan Traps were formed, supporting argument that volcanism is main driving force behind mass extinctions.
