Traces of ancient ocean discovered near Novosibirsk

Minsk, August 21 /Corr. Belta/. Scientists from the Petroleum Geology and Geophysics Institute during field work found coral remains near the village of Zavyalovo in the Novosibirsk region, which indicate the presence of a warm ocean in the region about 350 million years ago, a geological and mineralogical candidate, Yana Fomina, an employee of the institute, told TASS.

“We have never found corals of this size before, it is a fairly large quarry, the walls have both colonial corals (corals that grow in colonies) and solitary corals, all of which are associated with warm oceans. This type of coral lives only in warm water basins,” said the agency’s interlocutor.

Scientists believe that volcanic activity occurred near the ancient ocean that existed in this place about 350 million years ago. Therefore, the ocean basin was heated by volcanoes. This promoted the proliferation of heat-loving fauna in the reservoir. In the near future, scientists plan to begin a detailed study of the obtained samples and make more accurate dating, Fomina said.

The researchers said the remains found date back to the Devonian period, the fourth geological period of the Paleozoic Era. According to the Great Russian Encyclopedia, the Devonian period marked one of the peaks of biodiversity in the history of life on Earth. In the Devonian period, the first land plants, amphibians and insects appeared. Among marine invertebrates, corals, as well as bivalves and gastropods flourished.