A collection of fossil shells from marine snails and clams is challenging a theory that says the world's deadliest mass extinction was accompanied by severe ocean acidification.
Instead of showing damage or signs of repair—which would be expected if the mollusk was surviving in acidic conditions—the shells were in excellent shape, according to a study that was published on Jan. 24, 2022, in
Scientific Reports.
William Foster, a scientist at the University of Hamburg and former postdoctoral researcher at The University of Texas at Austin Jackson School of Geosciences, led the research.
The study is the first to use shells from fossilized mollusks to investigate ocean chemistry, demonstrating a new tool that scientists can use to study the conditions of the planet's deep past...