scholarly journals Nickel isotopes link Siberian Traps aerosol particles to the end-Permian mass extinction

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Menghan Li ◽  
Stephen E. Grasby ◽  
Shui-Jiong Wang ◽  
Xiaolin Zhang ◽  
Laura E. Wasylenki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Aerosol Particles ◽  
Sedimentary Rocks ◽  
Large Igneous Province ◽  
Siberian Traps ◽  
The Past ◽  
Igneous Province ◽  
Nickel Isotopes ◽  
Extinction Event ◽  
Permian Mass Extinction

AbstractThe end-Permian mass extinction (EPME) was the most severe extinction event in the past 540 million years, and the Siberian Traps large igneous province (STLIP) is widely hypothesized to have been the primary trigger for the environmental catastrophe. The killing mechanisms depend critically on the nature of volatiles ejected during STLIP eruptions, initiating about 300 kyr before the extinction event, because the atmosphere is the primary interface between magmatism and extinction. Here we report Ni isotopes for Permian-Triassic sedimentary rocks from Arctic Canada. The δ60Ni data range from −1.09‰ to 0.35‰, and exhibit the lightest δ60Ni compositions ever reported for sedimentary rocks. Our results provide strong evidence for global dispersion and loading of Ni-rich aerosol particles into the Panthalassic Ocean. Our data demonstrate that environmental degradation had begun well before the extinction event and provide a link between global dispersion of Ni-rich aerosols, ocean chemistry changes, and the EPME.

Mercury fluxes record regional volcanism in the South China craton prior to the end-Permian mass extinction

Geology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Shen ◽  
Jiubin Chen ◽  
Thomas J. Algeo ◽  
Qinglai Feng ◽  
Jianxin Yu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South China ◽  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Large Igneous Province ◽  
Upper Permian ◽  
The South ◽  
Triassic Boundary ◽  
Siberian Traps ◽  
Igneous Province ◽  
South China Craton ◽  
Permian Mass Extinction

Enhanced regional subduction-related volcanism in the South China craton concurrent with Siberian Traps large igneous province magmatism was a likely contributor to major biotic and environmental stresses associated with the Permian-Triassic boundary (ca. 252 Ma) mass extinction. However, the timing, intensity, and duration of this regional volcanic activity remain uncertain. We analyzed mercury (Hg) concentrations in three widely separated marine sections in the South China craton (Shangsi, Ganxi, and Chaohu) as well as Hg isotopic compositions in one section (Shangsi) from the Upper Permian (Changhsingian) through the lowermost Triassic (Induan) in order to track volcanic inputs. Four mercury enrichment (ME) intervals, dating to the lowermost Changhsingian (ME1), mid–Clarkina changxingensis zone (ME2), upper C. changxingensis to lower C. yini zones (ME3), and latest Permian mass extinction (LPME) interval (ME4), were recognized on the basis of elevated Hg/total organic carbon ratios. These records provide evidence of strong volcanism in the Tethyan region starting ~2 m.y. before the LPME, whereas only the ME4 event is recorded in extra-Tethyan sections. Mercury isotopes support the inference that pre-LPME Hg peaks were related to regional subduction-related volcanism, and that Hg emissions at the LPME were the result of Siberian Traps large igneous province intrusions into organic-rich sediments. This study demonstrates the feasibility of distinguishing flood-basalt from subduction-related volcanic inputs on the basis of marine sedimentary Hg records.

scholarly journals When and how did the terrestrial mid-Permian mass extinction occur? Evidence from the tetrapod record of the Karoo Basin, South Africa

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1811) ◽  
pp. 20150834 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael O. Day ◽  
Jahandar Ramezani ◽  
Samuel A. Bowring ◽  
Peter M. Sadler ◽  
Douglas H. Erwin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Southern China ◽  
Large Igneous Province ◽  
Temporal Association ◽  
Carbonate Platforms ◽  
Biodiversity Crisis ◽  
Karoo Basin ◽  
Extinction Event ◽  
Permian Mass Extinction

A mid-Permian (Guadalupian epoch) extinction event at approximately 260 Ma has been mooted for two decades. This is based primarily on invertebrate biostratigraphy of Guadalupian–Lopingian marine carbonate platforms in southern China, which are temporally constrained by correlation to the associated Emeishan Large Igneous Province (LIP). Despite attempts to identify a similar biodiversity crisis in the terrestrial realm, the low resolution of mid-Permian tetrapod biostratigraphy and a lack of robust geochronological constraints have until now hampered both the correlation and quantification of terrestrial extinctions. Here we present an extensive compilation of tetrapod-stratigraphic data analysed by the constrained optimization (CONOP) algorithm that reveals a significant extinction event among tetrapods within the lower Beaufort Group of the Karoo Basin, South Africa, in the latest Capitanian. Our fossil dataset reveals a 74–80% loss of generic richness between the upper Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone (AZ) and the mid- Pristerognathus AZ that is temporally constrained by a U–Pb zircon date (CA-TIMS method) of 260.259 ± 0.081 Ma from a tuff near the top of the Tapinocephalus AZ. This strengthens the biochronology of the Permian Beaufort Group and supports the existence of a mid-Permian mass extinction event on land near the end of the Guadalupian. Our results permit a temporal association between the extinction of dinocephalian therapsids and the LIP volcanism at Emeishan, as well as the marine end-Guadalupian extinctions.

scholarly journals The Capitanian (Guadalupian, Middle Permian) mass extinction in NW Pangea (Borup Fiord, Arctic Canada): A global crisis driven by volcanism and anoxia

2019 ◽  
Vol 132 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 931-942 ◽  
Author(s):  
David P.G. Bond ◽  
Paul B. Wignall ◽  
Stephen E. Grasby
Keyword(s):  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Middle Permian ◽  
Large Igneous Province ◽  
Arctic Canada ◽  
Triassic Boundary ◽  
Emeishan Large Igneous Province ◽  
Geochemical Study ◽  
Igneous Province ◽  
Sverdrup Basin ◽  
Permian Mass Extinction

Abstract Until recently, the biotic crisis that occurred within the Capitanian Stage (Middle Permian, ca. 262 Ma) was known only from equatorial (Tethyan) latitudes, and its global extent was poorly resolved. The discovery of a Boreal Capitanian crisis in Spitsbergen, with losses of similar magnitude to those in low latitudes, indicated that the event was geographically widespread, but further non-Tethyan records are needed to confirm this as a true mass extinction. The cause of this crisis is similarly controversial: While the temporal coincidence of the extinction and the onset of volcanism in the Emeishan large igneous province in China provides a clear link between those phenomena, the proximal kill mechanism is unclear. Here, we present an integrated fossil, pyrite framboid, and geochemical study of the Middle to Late Permian section of the Sverdrup Basin at Borup Fiord, Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada. As in Spitsbergen, the Capitanian extinction is recorded by brachiopods in a chert/limestone succession 30–40 m below the Permian-Triassic boundary. The extinction level shows elevated concentrations of redox-sensitive trace metals (Mo, V, U, Mn), and contemporary pyrite framboid populations are dominated by small individuals, suggestive of a causal role for anoxia in the wider Boreal crisis. Mercury concentrations—a proxy for volcanism—are generally low throughout the succession but are elevated at the extinction level, and this spike withstands normalization to total organic carbon, total sulfur, and aluminum. We suggest this is the smoking gun of eruptions in the distant Emeishan large igneous province, which drove high-latitude anoxia via global warming. Although the global Capitanian extinction might have had different regional mechanisms, like the more famous extinction at the end of the Permian, each had its roots in large igneous province volcanism.

scholarly journals High-precision geochronology confirms voluminous magmatism before, during, and after Earth’s most severe extinction

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (7) ◽  
pp. e1500470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seth D. Burgess ◽  
Samuel A. Bowring
Keyword(s):  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Large Igneous Province ◽  
Causal Connection ◽  
Siberian Traps ◽  
Rapid Injection ◽  
Biotic Recovery ◽  
Age Model ◽  
Permian Mass Extinction ◽  
Shallow Crust

The end-Permian mass extinction was the most severe in the Phanerozoic, extinguishing more than 90% of marine and 75% of terrestrial species in a maximum of 61 ± 48 ky. Because of broad temporal coincidence between the biotic crisis and one of the most voluminous continental volcanic eruptions since the origin of animals, the Siberian Traps large igneous province (LIP), a causal connection has long been suggested. Magmatism is hypothesized to have caused rapid injection of massive amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, driving climate change and subsequent destabilization of the biosphere. Establishing a causal connection between magmatism and mass extinction is critically dependent on accurately and precisely knowing the relative timing of the two events and the flux of magma. New U/Pb dates on Siberian Traps LIP lava flows, sills, and explosively erupted rocks indicate that (i) about two-thirds of the total lava/pyroclastic volume was erupted over ~300 ky, before and concurrent with the end-Permian mass extinction; (ii) eruption of the balance of lavas continued for at least 500 ky after extinction cessation; and (iii) massive emplacement of sills into the shallow crust began concomitant with the mass extinction and continued for at least 500 ky into the early Triassic. This age model is consistent with Siberian Traps LIP magmatism as a trigger for the end-Permian mass extinction and suggests a role for magmatism in suppression of post-extinction biotic recovery.

scholarly journals Digitalized Earth's most severe sea-level regression and extinction

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mingxing Dong
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Upper Permian ◽  
Nw China ◽  
Siberian Traps ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
Permian Mass Extinction ◽  
Bayan Har

Abstract End-Permian mass extinction is the largest bio-crises in the past 542 million years in Earth's history. Despite half a century of study, what caused the catastrophe remains equivocal. Fossil collections in the study area of Bayan Har, NW China, suggest a continuous Permian sequence, whereas most mid-to-upper Permian strata were missing. By correlating the Permian sequence reconstructed from reworked carbonate clasts with the measured Permian section, we corroborate a sea-level fall of at least 354 m caused by plume-induced uplift, resulted in the erosion of the last 15-Myr Permian carbonate strata, from Uppermost Permian to the fusulinid zone. The marine regression and resultant erosion occurred not only in China but also in Canadian Arctica[1], Oman[2], Canadian Rockies[3], Norway[3], North America[3] all over the world. New sections and digitalized sea-level regression demonstrate that the period of extinction falls within the hiatus, a break in deposition between the uppermost Permian carbonate strata and the clasts reworked from Permian platforms, representing a duration of sea-level drop 354 m. Carbonate clasts, Siberian Traps volcanism, global warming, anoxia, and ocean acidification are all post-extinction geological events. Why did the extinction occur during the falling stage? We will never know because we can't study a hiatus unrepresented by strata unless we associate the extinction with the sea-level drop.

Lithostratigraphy of the Palaeoproterozoic Hekpoort Formation (Pretoria Group, Transvaal Supergroup), South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 123 (4) ◽  
pp. 655-668
Author(s):  
N. Lenhardt ◽  
W. Altermann ◽  
F. Humbert ◽  
M. de Kock
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Bushveld Complex ◽  
Sedimentary Rocks ◽  
Type Locality ◽  
Large Igneous Province ◽  
Braided River ◽  
River Systems ◽  
The West ◽  
Igneous Province ◽  
Transvaal Supergroup

Abstract The Palaeoproterozoic Hekpoort Formation of the Pretoria Group is a lava-dominated unit that has a basin-wide extent throughout the Transvaal sub-basin of South Africa. Additional correlative units may be present in the Kanye sub-basin of Botswana. The key characteristic of the formation is its general geochemical uniformity. Volcaniclastic and other sedimentary rocks are relatively rare throughout the succession but may be dominant in some locations. Hekpoort Formation outcrops are sporadic throughout the basin and mostly occur in the form of gentle hills and valleys, mainly encircling Archaean domes and the Palaeoproterozoic Bushveld Complex (BC). The unit is exposed in the western Pretoria Group basin, sitting unconformably either on the Timeball Hill Formation or Boshoek Formation, which is lenticular there, and on top of the Boshoek Formation in the east of the basin. The unit is unconformably overlain by the Dwaalheuwel Formation. The type-locality for the Hekpoort Formation is the Hekpoort farm (504 IQ Hekpoort), ca. 60 km to the west-southwest of Pretoria. However, no stratotype has ever been proposed. A lectostratotype, i.e., the Mooikloof area in Pretoria East, that can be enhanced by two reference stratotypes are proposed herein. The Hekpoort Formation was deposited in a cratonic subaerial setting, forming a large igneous province (LIP) in which short-termed localised ponds and small braided river systems existed. It therefore forms one of the major Palaeoproterozoic magmatic events on the Kaapvaal Craton.

Volatile concentrations in olivine-hosted melt inclusions from meimechite and melanephelinite lavas of the Siberian Traps Large Igneous Province: Evidence for flux-related high-Ti, high-Mg magmatism

2018 ◽  
Vol 483 ◽  
pp. 442-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexei V. Ivanov ◽  
Samuel B. Mukasa ◽  
Vadim S. Kamenetsky ◽  
Michael Ackerson ◽  
Elena I. Demonterova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Melt Inclusions ◽  
Large Igneous Province ◽  
Siberian Traps ◽  
Igneous Province

scholarly journals Toxic mercury pulses into late Permian terrestrial and marine environments

Geology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (8) ◽  
pp. 830-833 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen E. Grasby ◽  
Xiaojun Liu ◽  
Runsheng Yin ◽  
Richard E. Ernst ◽  
Zhuoheng Chen
Keyword(s):  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Large Igneous Province ◽  
Late Permian ◽  
Volcanic Emissions ◽  
Loading Rates ◽  
Siberian Traps ◽  
Igneous Province ◽  
Permian Extinction ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Normal Background

Abstract Large spikes in mercury (Hg) concentration are observed globally at the latest Permian extinction (LPE) horizon that are thought to be related to enhanced volcanic emissions of the Siberian Traps large igneous province (LIP). While forming an effective chemostratigraphic marker, it remains unclear whether such enhanced volcanic Hg emissions could have generated toxic conditions that contributed to extinction processes. To address this, we examined the nature of enhanced Hg emissions from the Siberian Traps LIP and the potential impact it may have had on global ecosystems during the LPE. Model results for a LIP eruption predict that pulses of Hg emissions to the atmosphere would have been orders of magnitude greater than normal background conditions. When deposited into world environments, this would have generated a series of toxic shocks, each lasting >1000 yr. Such repeated Hg loading events would have had severe impact across marine trophic levels, as well as been toxic to terrestrial plant and animal life. Such high Hg loading rates may help explain the co-occurrence of marine and terrestrial extinctions.

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