A team of Princeton University researchers is exploring a new effect of a landmass collision that occurred about 50 million years ago. We know that when the landmass that is now the Indian subcontinent slammed into Asia, the collision changed the configuration of the continents and the global climate. Now the scientists have identified an additional effect: the oxygen in the world’s oceans increased. The team utilized samples gathered at three different locations to create a robust record of ocean nitrogen and oxygen levels that illustrate a substantial shift in ocean chemistry following the India-Asia collision.
Princeton University is a member of NYSERNet. Learn more about the study here: https://www.princeton.edu/news/2019/04/25/princeton-geoscientists-find-new-fallout-collision-changed-world