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Science 7 June 2002:
Vol. 296. no. 5574, pp. 1812 - 1813
DOI: 10.1126/science.1073209
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Perspectives

Also see the archival list of Science's Compass: Enhanced Perspectives

GEOLOGY:
Enhanced: Flood Basalts--Bigger and Badder

Paul R. Renne

During episodes of flood volcanism, vast amounts of mass and energy are transferred from Earth's interior to the surface within relatively short periods of time. Episodes of major flood volcanism coincided with severe mass extinctions, and perhaps also with large meteor impacts. In his Perspective, Renne discusses recent studies into the causes of these events and the extent of the flood basalt provinces created by them. He highlights the report by Reichow et al., who show that the Siberian Traps are much larger than previously thought, making it the largest (by volume) of all known flood provinces.

The author is at the Berkeley Geochronology Center, Berkeley, CA 94709, USA, and in the Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. E-mail: prenne{at}bgc.org

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)