Farmers pray rain in times drought. Most of us have experience of wanting the heavens to open our garden to be watered during an excessively dry spell. However, none us can imagine a prolonged period of rain lasting two million years. U.K. geologist and forensic scientist Alastair Ruffell has discovered that 200-300 million years , before the single landmass of Pangea separated continents, Earth did see an era during which it rained non-stop for to two million years. Dr Ruffell said this helped forge the development flora and fauna all over the globe. He believes the precipitation may have been sparked a huge rise in humidity following a series massive volcanic eruptions.
Dr Ruffell and his team based their findings research conducted strata of rock in the Eastern Alps in Europe the 1970s and 80s. The data showed unusual layers deposited ancient rock that dated back over 200 million years. Ruffell said this led to growing evidence that the wet period may have been, "the trigger that enabled dinosaurs, and possibly the other members our modern land-based fauna, to diversify and dominate the land". He added: "It may have been one the most important events the history of life, in terms its role in allowing not only the age of dinosaurs, but also the origins of most key classes that form the modern fauna …turtles, crocodiles, lizards and mammals."
