Boulder, CO, USA - Mass extinction events are sometimes portrayed in illustrations of volcanic eruptions causing widespread destruction. According to Dr. Richard E. Ernst of Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, expert on Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs), this interpretation may have some truth behind it, but not in the instantaneous way we might think. Ernst will report on his research on 1 November at the Geological Society of America's Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.