The eruptive tempo of Deccan volcanism in relation to the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary

Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 363 (6429) ◽  
pp. 866-870 ◽  
Author(s):  
Courtney J. Sprain ◽  
Paul R. Renne ◽  
Loÿc Vanderkluysen ◽  
Kanchan Pande ◽  
Stephen Self ◽  
...  

Late Cretaceous records of environmental change suggest that Deccan Traps (DT) volcanism contributed to the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary (KPB) ecosystem crisis. However, testing this hypothesis requires identification of the KPB in the DT. We constrain the location of the KPB with high-precision argon-40/argon-39 data to be coincident with changes in the magmatic plumbing system. We also found that the DT did not erupt in three discrete large pulses and that >90% of DT volume erupted in <1 million years, with ~75% emplaced post-KPB. Late Cretaceous records of climate change coincide temporally with the eruption of the smallest DT phases, suggesting that either the release of climate-modifying gases is not directly related to eruptive volume or DT volcanism was not the source of Late Cretaceous climate change.

2021 ◽  
pp. SP513-2020-175
Author(s):  
Abhinay Sharma ◽  
Samarendra Sahoo ◽  
N. V. Chalapathi Rao ◽  
B. Belyatsky ◽  
P. Dhote ◽  
...  

AbstractThe Early to Late Cretaceous Mundwara alkaline complex (comprising the Musala, Mer and Toa plugs) displays a broad spectrum of alkaline rocks closely associated in space and time with the Deccan Large Igneous Province (DLIP) in NW India. Petrology and Nd-Sr isotopic data on two youngest and altogether compositionally different lamprophyre dykes of the Mundwara alkaline complex are presented in this paper to understand their petrogenesis and also to constrain the magmatic processes responsible for generation of the rock spectrum in the complex (pyroxenite, picrite ankaramite, carbonatite, shonkinite, olivine gabbro, feldspathoidal and foid-free syenite). The two lamprophyre dykes occurring in the Mer and the Musala hills are referred to as basaltic camptonite I and camptonite II, respectively. The basaltic camptonite-I is highly porphyritic and contains olivine, clinopyroxene and magnetite macrocrysts embedded within the groundmass of microphenocyrsts composed of clinopyroxene, phlogopite, magnetite and feldspar. Whereas camptonite-II, with more or less similar texture, contains amphibole, biotite, magnetite and clinopyroxene within the microphenocrystic groundmass of amphibole, biotite, apatite and feldspar. Pyroxenes are chemically zoned and display corrosion of the cores revealing that they are antecrysts developed during early stages of magma evolution and later on inherited by more evolved magmas. Mineral chemistry and trace element composition of the lamprophyres reveal that fractional crystallisation was a dominant process. Early segregation of olivine + Cr-rich clinopyroxene + Cr-spinel from a primary hydrous alkali basalt within a magmatic plumbing system is inferred which led to the generation of basaltic camptonitic magma (M1) forming the Mer hill lamprophyre. Subsequently, progressive fractionation of pyroxene and Fe-Ti oxides from the basaltic camptonitic (M1) magma generated camptonitic (M2) magma forming the Musala hill lamprophyre. Both lamprophyre dykes on the Sr-Nd isotopic array reflect plume type asthenospheric derivation which largely corresponds to the Réunion plume and other alkaline rocks of the Deccan LIP. Our study brings out a complex sequence of processes such as crystal fractionation, accumulation and corrosion in the magmatic plumbing system involved in the generation of the Mundwara alkaline complex.Supplementary material at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5277073


Geology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicente Gilabert ◽  
Sietske J. Batenburg ◽  
Ignacio Arenillas ◽  
José A. Arz

Untangling the timing of the environmental effects of Deccan volcanism with respect to the Chicxulub impact is instrumental to fully assessing the contributions of both to climate change over the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary (KPB) interval. Despite recent improvements in radiometric age calibrations, the accuracy of age constraints and correlations is insufficient to resolve the exact mechanisms leading to environmental and climate change in the 1 m.y. across the KPB. We present new high-resolution planktic foraminiferal, geochemical, and geophysical data from the Zumaia section (Spain), calibrated to an updated orbitally tuned age model. We provide a revised chronology for the major carbon isotope excursions (CIEs) and planktic foraminiferal events and test temporal relationships with different models of the eruptive phases of the Deccan Traps. Our data show that the major CIEs near the KPB, i.e., the late Maastrichtian warming event (66.25–66.10 Ma) and the Dan-C2 event (65.8–65.7 Ma), are synchronous with the last and the first 405 k.y. eccentricity maximum of the Maastrichtian and the Danian, respectively, and that the minor Lower C29n event (65.48–65.41 Ma) is well constrained to a short eccentricity maximum. Conversely, we obtained evidence of abrupt environmental change likely related to Deccan volcanism at ca. 65.9 Ma, based on a bloom of opportunistic triserial guembelitriids (Chiloguembelitria). The orbital, isotopic, and paleobiological temporal relationships with Deccan volcanism established here provide new insights into the role of Deccan volcanism in climate and environmental change in the 1 m.y. across the KPB.


Science ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 350 (6256) ◽  
pp. 76-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul R. Renne ◽  
Courtney J. Sprain ◽  
Mark A. Richards ◽  
Stephen Self ◽  
Loÿc Vanderkluysen ◽  
...  

Bolide impact and flood volcanism compete as leading candidates for the cause of terminal-Cretaceous mass extinctions. High-precision 40Ar/39Ar data indicate that these two mechanisms may be genetically related, and neither can be considered in isolation. The existing Deccan Traps magmatic system underwent a state shift approximately coincident with the Chicxulub impact and the terminal-Cretaceous mass extinctions, after which ~70% of the Traps' total volume was extruded in more massive and more episodic eruptions. Initiation of this new regime occurred within ~50,000 years of the impact, which is consistent with transient effects of impact-induced seismic energy. Postextinction recovery of marine ecosystems was probably suppressed until after the accelerated volcanism waned.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas S. Tobin ◽  
◽  
Bridget Murray ◽  
Jeffrey A. Wilson ◽  
Gregory P. Wilson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 251
Author(s):  
Adi Zweifler (Zvifler) ◽  
Michael O’Leary ◽  
Kyle Morgan ◽  
Nicola K. Browne

Increasing evidence suggests that coral reefs exposed to elevated turbidity may be more resilient to climate change impacts and serve as an important conservation hotspot. However, logistical difficulties in studying turbid environments have led to poor representation of these reef types within the scientific literature, with studies using different methods and definitions to characterize turbid reefs. Here we review the geological origins and growth histories of turbid reefs from the Holocene (past), their current ecological and environmental states (present), and their potential responses and resilience to increasing local and global pressures (future). We classify turbid reefs using new descriptors based on their turbidity regime (persistent, fluctuating, transitional) and sources of sediment input (natural versus anthropogenic). Further, by comparing the composition, function and resilience of two of the most studied turbid reefs, Paluma Shoals Reef Complex, Australia (natural turbidity) and Singapore reefs (anthropogenic turbidity), we found them to be two distinct types of turbid reefs with different conservation status. As the geographic range of turbid reefs is expected to increase due to local and global stressors, improving our understanding of their responses to environmental change will be central to global coral reef conservation efforts.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diver E. Marín ◽  
Juan F. Salazar ◽  
José A. Posada-Marín

&lt;p&gt;Some of the main problems in hydrological sciences are related to how and why river flows change as a result of environmental change, and what are the corresponding implications for society. This has been described as the Panta Rhei context, which refers to the challenge of understanding and quantifying hydrological dynamics in a changing environment, i.e. under the influence of non-stationary effects. The river flow regime in a basin is the result of a complex aggregation process that has been studied by the scaling theory, which allows river basins to be classified as regulated or unregulated and to identify a critical threshold between these states. Regulation is defined here as the basin&amp;#8217;s capacity to either dampen high flows or to enhance low flows. This capacity depends on how basins store and release water through time, which in turn depends on many processes that are highly dynamic and sensitive to environmental change. Here we focus on the Magdalena river basin in northwestern South America, which is the main basin for water and energy security in Colombia, and at the same time, it has been identified as one of the most vulnerable regions to be affected by climate change. Building upon some of our previous studies, here we use data analysis to study the evolution of regulation in the Magdalena basin for 1992-2015 based on the scaling theory for extreme flows. In contrast to most previous studies, here we focus on the scaling properties of events rather than on long term averages. We discuss possible relations between changes in the scaling properties and environmental factors such as climate variability, climate change, and land use/land cover change, as well as the potential implications for water security in the country. Our results show that, during the last few decades, the Magdalena river basin has maintained its capacity to regulate low flows (i.e. amplification) whereas it has been losing its capacity to regulate high flows (i.e. dampening), which could be associated with the occurrence of the extremes phases of&amp;#160; El Ni&amp;#241;o Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and anthropogenic effects, mainly deforestation. These results provide foundations for using the scaling laws as empirical tools for understanding temporal changes of hydrological regulation and simultaneously generate useful scientific evidence that allows stakeholders to take decisions related to water management in the Magdalena river basin in the context of environmental change.&lt;/p&gt;


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