Mercury evidence of intense volcanic effects on land during the Permian-Triassic transition

Geology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (12) ◽  
pp. 1117-1121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Shen ◽  
Jianxin Yu ◽  
Jiubin Chen ◽  
Thomas J. Algeo ◽  
Guozhen Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Igneous Province ◽  
Triassic Boundary ◽  
Mass Independent Fractionation ◽  
Carbon Isotope Excursion ◽  
Igneous Province ◽  
South China Craton ◽  
Permian Mass Extinction ◽  
Permian Triassic Boundary ◽  
First Time ◽  
Global Influence

Abstract The Siberian Traps large igneous province (STLIP) was the likely trigger for the ca. 252 Ma latest Permian mass extinction (LPME), but direct evidence for global volcanic effects on land remains rare. Here, we used mercury (Hg) enrichments, a proxy for ancient volcanic activity, to assess volcanic inputs to two terrestrial Permian-Triassic boundary (PTB) sections that were separated by thousands of kilometers and represent different latitudinal zones—the peri-equatorial Lubei section (South China craton) and the high-latitude (40–60°N) Dalongkou section (Junggar terrane). Both sections exhibit strong Hg enrichment within a discrete (≤40 m) stratigraphic window representing the LPME. At Lubei, this interval is also characterized by negative mass-independent fractionation (MIF) of odd Hg isotopes, consistent with massive volcanogenic and/or terrestrial Hg inputs. These findings are significant in documenting Hg spikes and negative MIF excursions near the PTB in terrestrial sections for the first time, providing evidence of the global influence of the STLIP, as well as in demonstrating at high stratigraphic resolution its synchronicity with the PTB negative carbon-isotope excursion (CIE), supporting a common global cause for these anomalies.

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 Archosauriform footprints in the Lower Triassic of Western Alps and their role in understanding the effects of the Permian-Triassic hyperthermal

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e10522
Author(s):  
Fabio Massimo Petti ◽  
Heinz Furrer ◽  
Enrico Collo ◽  
Edoardo Martinetto ◽  
Massimo Bernardi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Lower Triassic ◽  
Western Alps ◽  
Large Igneous Province ◽  
Early Triassic ◽  
Triassic Boundary ◽  
Habitable Zones ◽  
Single Well ◽  
Permian Mass Extinction ◽  
Permian Triassic Boundary

The most accepted killing model for the Permian-Triassic mass extinction (PTME) postulates that massive volcanic eruption (i.e., the Siberian Traps Large Igneous Province) led to geologically rapid global warming, acid rain and ocean anoxia. On land, habitable zones were drastically reduced, due to the combined effects of heating, drought and acid rains. This hyperthermal had severe effects also on the paleobiogeography of several groups of organisms. Among those, the tetrapods, whose geographical distribution across the end-Permian mass extinction (EPME) was the subject of controversy in a number of recent papers. We here describe and interpret a new Early Triassic (?Olenekian) archosauriform track assemblage from the Gardetta Plateau (Briançonnais, Western Alps, Italy) which, at the Permian-Triassic boundary, was placed at about 11° North. The tracks, both arranged in trackways and documented by single, well-preserved imprints, are assigned to Isochirotherium gardettensis ichnosp. nov., and are here interpreted as produced by a non-archosaurian archosauriform (erytrosuchid?) trackmaker. This new discovery provides further evidence for the presence of archosauriformes at low latitudes during the Early Triassic epoch, supporting a model in which the PTME did not completely vacate low-latitude lands from tetrapods that therefore would have been able to cope with the extreme hot temperatures of Pangaea mainland.

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 Halogen Enrichment of Siberian Traps Magmas During Interaction With Evaporites

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svetlana Sibik ◽  
Marie Edmonds ◽  
Benoit Villemant ◽  
Henrik H. Svensen ◽  
Alexander G. Polozov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Contact Metamorphism ◽  
Large Igneous Province ◽  
Basalt Magma ◽  
Triassic Boundary ◽  
Siberian Traps ◽  
Igneous Province ◽  
Host Rocks ◽  
Permian Triassic Boundary ◽  
Primary Magmas

Volatile emissions to the atmosphere associated with the Siberian Traps eruptions at the Permian-Triassic boundary were sourced from the outgassing of primary magmas and the sedimentary host rocks into which they were intruded. Halogens in volcanic gases may have played an important role in environmental degradation and in stratospheric ozone destruction. Here we investigate how halogens behave during the interaction between salts and basalt magma emplaced as sills and erupted as lava. We present whole-rock, trace, and halogen concentrations for a suite of samples from three locations in the Siberian Traps Large Igneous Province, including basalt lavas erupted, and dolerites intruded into both organic-bearing shales and evaporites. Dolerites are enriched in Cl, Br, and I; their enrichment in Cl is similar to MORB and OIB that have been inferred to have assimilated seawater. The dolerites exhibit halogen compositional systematics, which extend towards both evaporites and crustal brines. Furthermore, all analyzed samples show enrichment in Rb/Nb; with the dolerites also showing enrichment in Cl/K similar to MORB and OIB that have been inferred to have assimilated seawater. We infer that samples from all three locations have assimilated fluids derived from evaporites, which are components of crustal sedimentary rocks. We show that up to 89% of the chlorine in the dolerites may have been assimilated as a consequence of the contact metamorphism of evaporites. We show, by thermal modeling, that halogen transfer may occur via assimilation of a brine phase derived from heating evaporites. Halogen assimilation from subcropping evaporites may be pervasive in the Siberian Traps Large Igneous Province and is expected to have enhanced emissions of Cl and Br into the atmosphere from both intrusive and extrusive magmatism.

scholarly journals Aras Valley (northwest Iran): high-resolution stratigraphy of a continuous central Tethyan Permian–Triassic boundary section

Fossil Record ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Gliwa ◽  
Abbas Ghaderi ◽  
Lucyna Leda ◽  
Martin Schobben ◽  
Sara Tomás ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Carbon Isotopes ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Triassic Boundary ◽  
Nw Iran ◽  
Environmental Setting ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Permian Extinction ◽  
Permian Mass Extinction ◽  
Permian Triassic Boundary

Abstract. The Permian–Triassic boundary section in the Aras Valley in NW Iran is investigated with respect to carbonate microfacies, biostratigraphy (particularly conodonts, nautiloids, and ammonoids), chemostratigraphy (carbon isotopes), and environmental setting. Correlation of the data allows the establishment of a high-resolution stratigraphy based on conodonts (with four Wuchiapingian, 10 Changhsingian, and three Griesbachian zones), ammonoids (with nine Changhsingian zones), and carbon isotopes; it forms the base for the reconstruction of the environmental changes before and after the end-Permian extinction event at the studied locality. In the Aras Valley section, there is no evidence for the development of anoxic conditions, associated with the end-Permian mass extinction.

scholarly journals Timing and tempo of the Great Oxidation Event

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (8) ◽  
pp. 1811-1816 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley P. Gumsley ◽  
Kevin R. Chamberlain ◽  
Wouter Bleeker ◽  
Ulf Söderlund ◽  
Michiel O. de Kock ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Oxygen ◽  
Kaapvaal Craton ◽  
Large Igneous Province ◽  
Snowball Earth ◽  
Low Latitude ◽  
Great Oxidation Event ◽  
Carbon Isotope Excursion ◽  
Igneous Province ◽  
Age Constraints ◽  
Exact Timing

The first significant buildup in atmospheric oxygen, the Great Oxidation Event (GOE), began in the early Paleoproterozoic in association with global glaciations and continued until the end of the Lomagundi carbon isotope excursion ca. 2,060 Ma. The exact timing of and relationships among these events are debated because of poor age constraints and contradictory stratigraphic correlations. Here, we show that the first Paleoproterozoic global glaciation and the onset of the GOE occurred between ca. 2,460 and 2,426 Ma, ∼100 My earlier than previously estimated, based on an age of 2,426 ± 3 Ma for Ongeluk Formation magmatism from the Kaapvaal Craton of southern Africa. This age helps define a key paleomagnetic pole that positions the Kaapvaal Craton at equatorial latitudes of 11° ± 6° at this time. Furthermore, the rise of atmospheric oxygen was not monotonic, but was instead characterized by oscillations, which together with climatic instabilities may have continued over the next ∼200 My until ≤2,250–2,240 Ma. Ongeluk Formation volcanism at ca. 2,426 Ma was part of a large igneous province (LIP) and represents a waning stage in the emplacement of several temporally discrete LIPs across a large low-latitude continental landmass. These LIPs played critical, albeit complex, roles in the rise of oxygen and in both initiating and terminating global glaciations. This series of events invites comparison with the Neoproterozoic oxygen increase and Sturtian Snowball Earth glaciation, which accompanied emplacement of LIPs across supercontinent Rodinia, also positioned at low latitude.

scholarly journals Rapid enhancement of chemical weathering recorded by extremely light seawater lithium isotopes at the Permian–Triassic boundary

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (15) ◽  
pp. 3782-3787 ◽  
Author(s):  
He Sun ◽  
Yilin Xiao ◽  
Yongjun Gao ◽  
Guijie Zhang ◽  
John F. Casey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Chemical Weathering ◽  
Triassic Boundary ◽  
Isotopic Signatures ◽  
Siberian Traps ◽  
Li Isotope ◽  
Continental Weathering ◽  
Excessive Nutrients ◽  
Permian Mass Extinction ◽  
Permian Triassic Boundary

Lithium (Li) isotope analyses of sedimentary rocks from the Meishan section in South China reveal extremely light seawater Li isotopic signatures at the Permian–Triassic boundary (PTB), which coincide with the most severe mass extinction in the history of animal life. Using a dynamic seawater lithium box model, we show that the light seawater Li isotopic signatures can be best explained by a significant influx of riverine [Li] with light δ7Li to the ocean realm. The seawater Li isotope excursion started ≥300 Ky before and persisted up to the main extinction event, which is consistent with the eruption time of the Siberian Traps. The eruption of the Siberian Traps exposed an enormous amount of fresh basalt and triggered CO2 release, rapid global warming, and acid rains, which in turn led to a rapid enhancement of continental weathering. The enhanced continental weathering delivered excessive nutrients to the oceans that could lead to marine eutrophication, anoxia, acidification, and ecological perturbation, ultimately resulting in the end-Permian mass extinction.

scholarly journals Palaeophytogeographical Patterns Across the Permian–Triassic Boundary

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hendrik Nowak ◽  
Christian Vérard ◽  
Evelyn Kustatscher
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Land Plant ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Triassic Boundary ◽  
Unequal Distribution ◽  
Population Turnover ◽  
Community Types ◽  
Permian Mass Extinction ◽  
Permian Triassic Boundary ◽  
The Impact

It has long been recognized that terrestrial floras underwent major and long-lasting changes during the Permian and Triassic, some of which have been attributed to the end-Permian mass extinction. However, these changes are still poorly understood with regard to the late Permian and Early Triassic. In particular, the impact that ecological disturbances around the Permian–Triassic boundary had on the composition and palaeogeographical distribution of land plant communities needs to be scrutinized. We analyse this impact based on fossil floras from across the world, covering the Wuchiapingian to Ladinian time interval. The plant assemblages are assigned to biomes representing particular environmentally controlled community types. Variations in the distribution of biomes between stages indicate shifts in the environmental parameters affecting terrestrial floras, and provide insights into population turnover dynamics. A substantial shift towards increasing seasonality and a reduction of biome diversity occurs in the earliest Triassic and stabilised throughout the Middle Triassic. However, results also show that the stratigraphically and (palaeo-) geographically unequal distribution of sampled localities constitutes an important limitation for this kind of analysis.

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