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How did carbon dioxide released during Late Triassic volcanism strengthen the greenhouse effect?

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Triassic paleogeography — Triassic Period Distribution of landmasses, mountainous regions, shallow seas, and deep ocean basins during the early Triassic Period. Included in the paleogeographic reconstruction are the locations of the interval's subduction zones.

During the Late Triassic, the rifting of the supercontinent Pangea triggered intense volcanism, which released up to 100,000 gigatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.12

This massive injection of carbon dioxide strengthened the greenhouse effect through the absorption and re-emission of long-wave radiation. In the atmosphere, carbon dioxide molecules absorb upward-propagating electromagnetic radiation and re-emit a portion of it back toward the surface. Because the lower atmosphere is warmer than the layers above it, this process traps heat and prevents it from escaping into space, thereby maintaining higher temperatures in the lower troposphere than would otherwise occur.31

This rapid accumulation of carbon dioxide is estimated to have increased global average air temperatures by as much as 10–15 °C (18–27 °F), contributing to significant environmental stress and the end-Triassic extinction.1