(Image Source: Columbia University Earth Institute / Kevin Krajick )     BY CANDICE AVILES AND STEVEN SPARKMAN   New research ties one of the biggest mass die-offs in Earth’s history to the massive volcanic ridge that runs through the Atlantic Ocean.   The study, published in the journal Science , examined the End-Triassic Extinction event — where at least half of living species went extinct all at once — and the creation of the rift that broke apart North America and Africa. (Via Wikimedia Commons / NOAA )   The two events were known to have happened around the same time— around 200 million years ago — but without knowing which came first, scientists couldn’t say whether the volcanoes caused the die-off. But the study’s co-author says they now know that volcanoes came first. (Via YouTube / timesonlinevideo )   "This may not quench all the questions about the exact mechanism of the extinction itself. However, the coincidence in time with the volcanism is pretty much ironclad." (Via PopSci )   The new study supports the theory that the volcanoes which caused the Mid-Atlantic Ridge directly contributed to the extinction event — which allowed dinosaurs to dominate the planet for 135 million years. But how did the volcanoes manage such destruction?   A writer for io9 says it all comes down to greenhouse gases and climate change.  “In other words: the volcano shot a ton of carbon into the atmosphere and acidified the oceans (killing corals). Basically, the Earth destroyed itself, by polluting the environment.”   The researchers say the biggest extinction events all line up with volcanic activity, meaning, as several writers pointed out, the biggest threat to life on Earth is — Earth. (Via YouTube / National Geographic )   “Although we tend to think of the Earth as an amazingly hospitable planet, at several times in the past it seems to have done its best to kill us all—or at least all of our ancestors.” (Via ArsTechnica )   And if the story of rising CO2 levels and mass extinction sounds like a cautionary tale, you wouldn’t be the only one. The Daily Mail tied the new study to the current debate on climate change.   “Explosive human population growth, industrial activity and exploitation of natural resources are rapidly pushing many species off the map. Burning of fossil fuels in particular has [raised] CO2 level[s] more than 40 percent in just 200 years - a pace possibly as fast, or faster, than that of the End Triassic.”