Common Patterns of Mass Extinction, Survival, and Recovery in Marine Environments: What Do They Tell Us About the Future?

1994 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 437-466
Author(s):  
Erle G. Kauffinan
Keyword(s):  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Short Interval ◽  
Mass Extinctions ◽  
Ocean Climate ◽  
Environmental Fluctuations ◽  
Marine Realm ◽  
Climate Systems ◽  
Forcing Mechanisms ◽  
Physical And Chemical

Mass extinction is characterized by the loss of more than 50 percent of the world's species within a short interval of geologic time - months to as much as 3 million years (My). In the fossil record, these events have primarily been recorded from the marine realm. Three patterns of mass extinction have been described - catastrophic, stepwise, and graded extinction. Many well-studied extinction intervals contain elements of more than one pattern, suggesting that these biotic crises were caused by varied forcing mechanisms linked by complex environmental feedback loops. This hypothesis is supported by the discovery that the four well-studied Phanerozoic mass extinctions (Late Devonian, middle and terminal Cretaceous, Eocene-Oligocene boundary extinctions) share a number of physical, chemical, and biological characteristics in common. They consistently show stepwise extinction patterns linked to intervals of extraordinary fluctuations in the temperature, chemistry and structure of ocean-climate systems, at rates and magnitudes well above background levels. In addition, tropical ecosystems were the first and most severely affected, and more poleward, temperate biotas were mainly stressed during the later phases of the extinction interval. Evidence for these unusual environmental changes is derived from high-resolution (cm-scale) paleobiological, sedimentological, trace-element and stable-isotope analyses spanning mass extinction intervals. These dramatic environmental fluctuations were the immediate causes of mass extinction, as they progressively exceeded the survival limits of global biotas largely adapted to warm, equable, ice-free climates which characterized over 90 percent of Phanerozoic time. These environmental fluctuations probably represented feedback phenomena from more powerful, short-term forcing mechanisms which abruptly perturbed the structure of ocean-climate systems. Multiple impacts of extraterrestrial objects within short (<1-3 My) time intervals - so-called meteorite/comet showers - are the most logical candidates. This hypothesis is supported by physical and chemical evidence for impacts clustered around most, but not all, Mesozoic and Cenozoic mass extinctions.

Biogeochemical disruptions across the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary : insights from sulfur isotopes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arbia Jouini
Keyword(s):  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Sea Water ◽  
Sulfur Isotopes ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
Sulfur Cycle ◽  
Mass Extinctions ◽  
Deccan Volcanism ◽  
Organic Carbon Burial ◽  
Early Paleocene

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Biogeochemical disruptions across the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary : insights from sulfur isotopes&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Arbia JOUINI&lt;sup&gt;1*&lt;/sup&gt;, Guillaume PARIS&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;, Guillaume CARO&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;, Annachiara BARTOLINI&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1 &lt;/sup&gt;Centre de Recherches P&amp;#233;trographiques et G&amp;#233;ochimiques, CRPG-CNRS, UMR7358, ,15 rue Notre Dame des Pauvres, BP20, 54501Vandoeuvre-l&amp;#232;s-Nancy, France, email:[email protected]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; Mus&amp;#233;um National D&amp;#8217;Histoire Naturelle, D&amp;#233;partement Origines &amp; Evolution, CR2P MNHN, CNRS, Sorbonne Universit&amp;#233;, 8 rue Buffon CP38, 75005 Paris, France&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Cretaceous&amp;#8211;Paleogene (KPg) mass extinction event 66 million years ago witnessed one of the &amp;#8216;Big Five&amp;#8217; mass extinctions of the Phanerozoic. Two major catastrophic events, the Chicxulub asteroid impact and the Deccan trap eruptions, were involved in complex climatic and environmental changes that culminated in the mass extinction including oceanic biogenic carbonate crisis, sea water chemistry and ocean oxygen level changes. Deep understanding of the coeval sulfur biogeochemical cycle may help to better constrain and quantify these parameters.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here we present the first stratigraphic high resolution isotopic compositions of carbonate associated sulfate (CAS) based on monospecific planktic and benthic foraminifers' samples during the Maastrichtian-Danian transition from IODP pacific site 1209C. Primary &amp;#948;34SCAS data suggests that there was a major perturbation of sulfur cycle around the KPg transition with rapid fluctuations (100-200kyr) of about 2-4&amp;#8240; (&amp;#177;0.54&amp;#8240;, 2SD) during the late Maastrichtian followed by a negative excursion in &amp;#948;34SCAS of 2-3&amp;#8240; during the early Paleocene.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;An increase in oxygen levels associated with a decline in organic carbon burial, related to a collapse in primary productivity, may have led to the early Paleocene &amp;#948;34SCAS negative shift via a significant drop in microbial sulfate reduction. Alternatively, Deccan volcanism could also have played a role and impacted the sulfur cycle via direct input of isotopically light sulfur to the ocean. A revised correlation between &amp;#948;34SCAS data reported in this study and a precise dating of the Deccan volcanism phases would allow us to explore this hypothesis.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Keywords : KPg boundary, Sulphur cycle, cycle du calcium, Planktic and benthic foraminifera&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;

Ocean sulfate scarcity as a pre-condition for Large Igneous Province driven mass extinction

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Newton ◽  
Tianchen He ◽  
Jacopo Dal Corso ◽  
Paul Wignall ◽  
Ben Mills ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Isotope Composition ◽  
Feedback Mechanism ◽  
Large Igneous Province ◽  
Mass Extinctions ◽  
Anoxic Waters ◽  
Igneous Province ◽  
Marine Realm ◽  
Extinction Events ◽  
Increasing Temperature

&lt;p&gt;Records of sulfur cycling during mass extinction events increasingly show that they are associated with rapid shifts in the sulfur isotope composition of seawater indicative of low concentrations of ocean sulfate [1-4]. These events are also often associated with the spread of anoxic conditions in the marine realm. We propose a feedback mechanism whereby the production of methane in marine sediments increases in proportion to decreasing sulfate and consumes bottom water oxygen, thus acting as a positive feedback on spread of anoxic waters. This can be further amplified via increased weathering or recycled fluxes of phosphate enhancing productivity [e.g. 5], the effects of increasing temperature on the rate of methanogenesis and the additional suppression of marine sulfate via increased pyrite burial.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We propose that sulfate drawdown occurs prior to climate forcing and other extinction drivers imposed by large igneous province (LIP) eruption. The likely mechanism for the drawdown of sulfate prior to these extinction is the removal of sulfate from the oceans as gypsum in evaporite deposits. Several large mid-Phanerozoic mass extinctions have clear evidence of increased evaporite deposition prior to, or approximately coincidental with LIP eruption and extinction.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If this idea is correct, the biological impact of a LIP will partly depend on the sulfate status of the ocean at the time of its eruption, and may at least partly explain the observation that whilst many mass extinctions are associated temporally with a LIP, not all LIPs seem to cause mass extinctions.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;1. Newton, R.J., et al., Geology, 2011. 39(1): p. 7-10.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;2. Song, H., et al., Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 2014. 128(0): p. 95-113.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;3. Witts, J.D., et al., Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 2018. 230: p. 17-45.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;4. He, T., et al., Science Advances, 2020. 6(37): p. eabb6704.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;5. Schobben, M., et al., Nature Geoscience, 2020.&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Paleozoic–Mesozoic Eustatic Changes and Mass Extinctions: New Insights from Event Interpretation

Life ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 281
Author(s):  
Dmitry A. Ruban
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Early Jurassic ◽  
Late Devonian ◽  
Mass Extinctions ◽  
Sea Level Changes ◽  
Event Interpretation ◽  
Marine Realm ◽  
Global Sea Level

Recent eustatic reconstructions allow for reconsidering the relationships between the fifteen Paleozoic–Mesozoic mass extinctions (mid-Cambrian, end-Ordovician, Llandovery/Wenlock, Late Devonian, Devonian/Carboniferous, mid-Carboniferous, end-Guadalupian, end-Permian, two mid-Triassic, end-Triassic, Early Jurassic, Jurassic/Cretaceous, Late Cretaceous, and end-Cretaceous extinctions) and global sea-level changes. The relationships between eustatic rises/falls and period-long eustatic trends are examined. Many eustatic events at the mass extinction intervals were not anomalous. Nonetheless, the majority of the considered mass extinctions coincided with either interruptions or changes in the ongoing eustatic trends. It cannot be excluded that such interruptions and changes could have facilitated or even triggered biodiversity losses in the marine realm.

Deep CO2 from the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province during the end-Triassic mass extinction

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manfredo Capriolo ◽  
Andrea Marzoli ◽  
László E Aradi ◽  
Sara Callegaro ◽  
Jacopo Dal Corso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Melt Inclusions ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Analytical Techniques ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Large Igneous Province ◽  
Mass Extinctions ◽  
Basaltic Rocks ◽  
Central Atlantic Magmatic Province ◽  
Central Atlantic

&lt;p&gt;Throughout Earth&amp;#8217;s history, the coincidence in time between Large Igneous Province eruptions and mass extinctions points out a potential causality, where volcanic degassing may drive the global-scale climatic and environmental changes leading to biotic crises. The volcanic activity of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP, ca. 201 Ma), one of Earth&amp;#8217;s most voluminous Large Igneous Provinces, is synchronous with the end-Triassic mass extinction event, among the most severe extinctions during the Phanerozoic. Combining different in situ analytical techniques (optical microscopy, confocal Raman microspectroscopy, EMP, SEM-EDS, and NanoSIMS analyses), bubble-bearing melt inclusions within basaltic rocks revealed the abundance of CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; (up to 1.0 wt.%) in CAMP magmas [1]. Gaseous CO&lt;sub&gt;2&amp;#160;&lt;/sub&gt;and solid elemental C, alternatively preserved by gas exsolution bubbles within melt inclusions mainly hosted in clinopyroxene crystal clots, represent direct evidence for large amounts of volcanic CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;&amp;#160;(up to 10&lt;sup&gt;5&lt;/sup&gt;&amp;#8201;Gt) emitted into Earth&amp;#8217;s surface during the entire CAMP activity [1]. The entrapment conditions of these melt inclusions within clinopyroxene aggregates constrain the degassed CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; to a mantle and/or lower-middle crustal origin, indicating a deep source of carbon which may favour rapid and intense CAMP eruption pulses. Each magmatic pulse may have injected CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; into the end-Triassic atmosphere in amounts similar to those projected for the anthropogenic emissions during the 21&lt;sup&gt;st&lt;/sup&gt; century [1]. Therefore, volcanic CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; degassed during CAMP eruptions likely contributed to end-Triassic global warming and ocean acidification with catastrophic consequences for the biosphere.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;[1] Capriolo et al. (2020),&amp;#160;Nat. Commun.&amp;#160;&lt;strong&gt;11&lt;/strong&gt;,&amp;#160;1670.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Similarities and contrasts between the patterns of survival and recovery following the Cenomanian-Turonian (Upper Cretaceous) and the Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinctions

1992 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 121-121
Author(s):  
Peter J. Harries
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Range Data ◽  
Mass Extinctions ◽  
Temporary Reduction ◽  
Abundance And Diversity ◽  
Forcing Mechanisms ◽  
High Level ◽  
Extinction Events

Mass extinctions have played a significant role in the Phanerozoic evolutionary history. Not only have they resulted in the relatively rapid loss of numerous, ecologically and genetically diverse taxa, but, in most cases, they have culminated in the radiation of new lineages, communities and ecological structure based not only on the evolution of new taxa, but also on changes in dominance of surviving taxa. The hypothesis that these biotic crises may be periodic and caused by similar forcing mechanisms has generated the need to compare mass extinction survival and recovery intervals. The ultimate test of this hypothesis lies in the fossil record. For this study, the Cenomanian-Turonian (C-T) and Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary intervals are analyzed. These boundaries are interesting for a number of reasons: 1) they both are well-studied at a high level of resolution at a number of localities; 2) the K-T event follows the C-T event by approximately 26 My reflecting the proposed extinction periodicity; 3) they represent two different levels of extinction intensity with the K-T affecting a far greater percentage of taxa; and 4) they occurred under very different environmental conditions. Initial analyses of generic and species range data for epifaunal and infaunal bivalves, ammonites, brachiopods, benthic and planktic foraminifers, ostracodes, and nannoplankton suggest that the basic patterns of survival and recovery are similar for C-T and K-T extinctions. Both extinction events show an initial survival interval in most groups, during which most of the species present represent survivors (including “Lazarus taxa”) or new species within surviving lineages. This gives way to a recovery interval characterized by an increasing number of new species within new lineages. Based on the rapidity with which new species evolve, these repopulation intervals suggest that the degree of survivorship among diverse groups must be far greater than generally believed, because the evolutionary rates appear to be too rapid to be accounted for by rapid radiation solely from generalist stocks. Although the general patterns appear to be quite similar between these two extinction-repopulation intervals, there are significant differences. The C-T mass extinction affected primarily epifaunal bivalves, benthic foraminifers, and ammonite taxa severely, while the K-T event resulted in a pronounced extinction among planktic foraminifers and infaunal bivalves. This suggests that at least the proximate causes of extinction for the two intervals were substantially different. Despite the greater overall magnitude of the K-T extinctions, the repopulation occurred more rapidly following this event. This suggests that the degree of vacated niches was greater and/or the environmental conditions returned to more favorable levels more rapidly. The C-T repopulation may have been delayed due to the deleterious background conditions which existed throughout much of the mid-Cretaceous. Finally, the K-T extinctions resulted in the disappearance of significant elements of the pre-extinction faunas and communities, such as the ammonites, inoceramids, and rudists, whereas the C-T event resulted in the temporary reduction in abundance and diversity in these groups, but they rapidly reobtained their dominance.

Paroxysmal Deccan Eruptions linked to End-Cretaceous Mass Extinction

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thierry Adatte ◽  
Gerta Keller ◽  
Jorge E. Spangenberg ◽  
Paula Mateo ◽  
Jahnavi Punekar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Mass Extinctions ◽  
Deccan Volcanism ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
Global Climate Changes ◽  
Chicxulub Impact ◽  
The Impact

&lt;p&gt;The Chicxulub impact in Mexico and Deccan volcanism in India are both linked to the end-Cretaceous mass extinction but the relative timing of the impact, volcanic eruptions, and environmental changes remain controversial, precluding a full assessment of their respective roles. Mercury anomalies within the stratigraphic record have recently been proposed as atmospheric fallout of continental large igneous provinces (LIPs), and these anomalies are associated with all five major mass extinctions in Earth&amp;#8217;s history. If this proxy is robust, it could provide a record of volcanism directly correlated to mass extinctions and in the case of the End-extinction, the Chicxulub impact. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed mercury in the late Maastrichtian from the base of C29r to the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary (KPB) n the astronomically tuned Elles section in Tunisia, and correlate this chemostratigraphic record with recent high-precision U-Pb geochronology of Deccan volcanism. Our results support that Hg is a robust indicator of LIP volcanism, and directly links Deccan volcanism to rapid global climate changes, ocean acidification and increasing environmental stress during the last 320-340 kyr of the Maastrichtian. Furthermore, our time-resolved Hg record and U-Pb resolved eruption volumes reveal paroxysmal volcanic eruptions (~30% by volume) during the final 35 kyr leading up to the KPB mass extinction.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Massive methane fluxing from magma–sediment interaction in the end-Triassic Central Atlantic Magmatic Province

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Manfredo Capriolo ◽  
Andrea Marzoli ◽  
László E. Aradi ◽  
Michael R. Ackerson ◽  
Omar Bartoli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Large Igneous Province ◽  
Mass Extinctions ◽  
Quartz Crystals ◽  
Global Climate Changes ◽  
Central Atlantic Magmatic Province ◽  
Basaltic Magmas ◽  
Central Atlantic

AbstractExceptional magmatic events coincided with the largest mass extinctions throughout Earth’s history. Extensive degassing from organic-rich sediments intruded by magmas is a possible driver of the catastrophic environmental changes, which triggered the biotic crises. One of Earth’s largest magmatic events is represented by the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province, which was synchronous with the end-Triassic mass extinction. Here, we show direct evidence for the presence in basaltic magmas of methane, generated or remobilized from the host sedimentary sequence during the emplacement of this Large Igneous Province. Abundant methane-rich fluid inclusions were entrapped within quartz at the end of magmatic crystallization in voluminous (about 1.0 × 106 km3) intrusions in Brazilian Amazonia, indicating a massive (about 7.2 × 103 Gt) fluxing of methane. These micrometre-sized imperfections in quartz crystals attest an extensive release of methane from magma–sediment interaction, which likely contributed to the global climate changes responsible for the end-Triassic mass extinction.

Flood Basalts and Mass Extinctions

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 275-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew E. Clapham ◽  
Paul R. Renne
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Flood Basalt ◽  
Respiratory Physiology ◽  
Mass Extinctions ◽  
Flood Basalts ◽  
Volatile Release ◽  
Ocean Carbon ◽  
Biological Extinction ◽  
Extinction Events ◽  
Environmental Disruption

Flood basalts were Earth's largest volcanic episodes that, along with related intrusions, were often emplaced rapidly and coincided with environmental disruption: oceanic anoxic events, hyperthermals, and mass extinction events. Volatile emissions, both from magmatic degassing and vaporized from surrounding rock, triggered short-term cooling and longer-term warming, ocean acidification, and deoxygenation. The magnitude of biological extinction varied considerably, from small events affecting only select groups to the largest extinction of the Phanerozoic, with less-active organisms and those with less-developed respiratory physiology faring especially poorly. The disparate environmental and biological outcomes of different flood basalt events may at first order be explained by variations in the rate of volatile release modulated by longer trends in ocean carbon cycle buffering and the composition of marine ecosystems. Assessing volatile release, environmental change, and biological extinction at finer temporal resolution should be a top priority to refine ancient hyperthermals as analogs for anthropogenic climate change. ▪ Flood basalts, the largest volcanic events in Earth history, triggered dramatic environmental changes on land and in the oceans. ▪ Rapid volcanic carbon emissions led to ocean warming, acidification, and deoxygenation that often caused widespread animal extinctions. ▪ Animal physiology played a key role in survival during flood basalt extinctions, with reef builders such as corals being especially vulnerable. ▪ The rate and duration of volcanic carbon emission controlled the type of environmental disruption and the severity of biological extinction.

Mass extinctions alter extinction and origination dynamics with respect to body size

2021 ◽  
Vol 288 (1960) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro M. Monarrez ◽  
Noel A. Heim ◽  
Jonathan L. Payne
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Marine Animal ◽  
Mass Extinctions ◽  
Extinction Selectivity ◽  
Extinction Events ◽  
Mass Extinction Events ◽  
Marine Biosphere

Whether mass extinctions and their associated recoveries represent an intensification of background extinction and origination dynamics versus a separate macroevolutionary regime remains a central debate in evolutionary biology. The previous focus has been on extinction, but origination dynamics may be equally or more important for long-term evolutionary outcomes. The evolution of animal body size is an ideal process to test for differences in macroevolutionary regimes, as body size is easily determined, comparable across distantly related taxa and scales with organismal traits. Here, we test for shifts in selectivity between background intervals and the ‘Big Five’ mass extinction events using capture–mark–recapture models. Our body-size data cover 10 203 fossil marine animal genera spanning 10 Linnaean classes with occurrences ranging from Early Ordovician to Late Pleistocene (485–1 Ma). Most classes exhibit differences in both origination and extinction selectivity between background intervals and mass extinctions, with the direction of selectivity varying among classes and overall exhibiting stronger selectivity during origination after mass extinction than extinction during the mass extinction. Thus, not only do mass extinction events shift the marine biosphere into a new macroevolutionary regime, the dynamics of recovery from mass extinction also appear to play an underappreciated role in shaping the biosphere in their aftermath.

scholarly journals Stratigraphy of the Anthropocene

2011 ◽  
Vol 369 (1938) ◽  
pp. 1036-1055 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Zalasiewicz ◽  
Mark Williams ◽  
Richard Fortey ◽  
Alan Smith ◽  
Tiffany L. Barry ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Flux ◽  
Relative Timing ◽  
Sequence Stratigraphic ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Time Space ◽  
Marine Realm ◽  
Physical And Chemical ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Long Term Preservation

The Anthropocene, an informal term used to signal the impact of collective human activity on biological, physical and chemical processes on the Earth system, is assessed using stratigraphic criteria. It is complex in time, space and process, and may be considered in terms of the scale, relative timing, duration and novelty of its various phenomena. The lithostratigraphic signal includes both direct components, such as urban constructions and man-made deposits, and indirect ones, such as sediment flux changes. Already widespread, these are producing a significant ‘event layer’, locally with considerable long-term preservation potential. Chemostratigraphic signals include new organic compounds, but are likely to be dominated by the effects of CO 2 release, particularly via acidification in the marine realm, and man-made radionuclides. The sequence stratigraphic signal is negligible to date, but may become geologically significant over centennial/millennial time scales. The rapidly growing biostratigraphic signal includes geologically novel aspects (the scale of globally transferred species) and geologically will have permanent effects.

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