scholarly journals Two-pronged kill mechanism at the end-Triassic mass extinction

Geology ◽  
2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Calum P. Fox ◽  
Jessica H. Whiteside ◽  
Paul E. Olsen ◽  
Xingqian Cui ◽  
Roger E. Summons ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Waters ◽  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Central Atlantic Magmatic Province ◽  
Igneous Provinces ◽  
Extinction Event ◽  
Isotope Distributions ◽  
Permian Mass Extinction ◽  
Central Atlantic ◽  
Camp Activity

High-resolution biomarker and compound-specific isotope distributions coupled with the degradation of calcareous fossil remnants reveal that intensive euxinia and decalcification (acidification) driven by Central Atlantic magmatic province (CAMP) activity formed a two-pronged kill mechanism at the end-Triassic mass extinction. In a newly proposed extinction interval for the basal Blue Lias Formation (Bristol Channel Basin, UK), biomarker distributions reveal an episode of persistent photic zone euxinia (PZE) that extended further upward into the surface waters. In the same interval, shelly taxa almost completely disappear. Beginning in the basal paper shales of the Blue Lias Formation, a Lilliput assemblage is preserved consisting of only rare calcitic oysters (Liostrea) and ghost fossils of decalcified aragonitic bivalves. The stressors of PZE and decalcification parsimoniously explain the extinction event and inform possible combined causes of other biotic crises linked to emplacement of large igneous provinces, notably the end-Permian mass extinction, when PZE occurred on a broad and perhaps global scale.

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

<p>Throughout Earth’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’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<sub>2</sub> (up to 1.0 wt.%) in CAMP magmas [1]. Gaseous CO<sub>2 </sub>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<sub>2</sub> (up to 10<sup>5</sup> Gt) emitted into Earth’s surface during the entire CAMP activity [1]. The entrapment conditions of these melt inclusions within clinopyroxene aggregates constrain the degassed CO<sub>2</sub> 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<sub>2</sub> into the end-Triassic atmosphere in amounts similar to those projected for the anthropogenic emissions during the 21<sup>st</sup> century [1]. Therefore, volcanic CO<sub>2</sub> degassed during CAMP eruptions likely contributed to end-Triassic global warming and ocean acidification with catastrophic consequences for the biosphere.</p><p> </p><p>[1] Capriolo et al. (2020), Nat. Commun. <strong>11</strong>, 1670.</p>

Rapid and intense CO2 emissions into the atmosphere: Examples from the end-Triassic extinction

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manfredo Capriolo ◽  
Benjamin Mills ◽  
Robert Newton ◽  
Jacopo Dal Corso ◽  
Alexander Dunhill ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Biogeochemical Model ◽  
Earth Planet ◽  
Central Atlantic Magmatic Province ◽  
Igneous Provinces ◽  
Extinction Events ◽  
Central Atlantic ◽  
The Impact

<p>The coincidence between mass extinction events and the emplacement of Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) in the Phanerozoic geological record points to the magmatic CO<sub>2</sub> degassing as the potential trigger of rapid global-scale climatic and environmental changes. The Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) is one of the Earth’s hugest LIPs, and is coincident with the end-Triassic extinction, at ca. 201.5 Ma. Such LIPs emplacement and associated magmatic CO<sub>2</sub> degassing have traditionally been interpreted as occurring over periods much longer than those of anthropogenic CO<sub>2</sub> emissions, however our improving understanding of LIPs activity is reducing these timescales, with the latest estimates indicating CAMP magmatic pulses lasting approximately a few centuries each and characterized by high eruption rates [1; 2]. We employed a biogeochemical model to investigate the effects on ocean-atmosphere system and climate of these CAMP magmatic pulses, and to test whether such rapid and intense magmatic CO<sub>2</sub> degassing is consistent with the climatic, geochemical and palaeontological record of the end-Triassic. Hence, we compared the modern anthropogenic emissions (since the Industrial Revolution) with the pulsed magmatic degassing during CAMP emplacement, in order to evaluate the impact of rapid and intense events on climate and environment changes.</p><p> </p><p>[1] Knight <em>et al.</em> (2004), <em>Earth Planet. Sci. Lett.</em> <strong>228</strong>, 143-160. [2] Marzoli <em>et al.</em> (2019), <em>J. Petrol.</em> <strong>60</strong>, 945-996.</p>

scholarly journals Synchrony between the Central Atlantic magmatic province and the Triassic–Jurassic mass-extinction event?

2007 ◽  
Vol 244 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 345-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica H. Whiteside ◽  
Paul E. Olsen ◽  
Dennis V. Kent ◽  
Sarah J. Fowell ◽  
Mohammed Et-Touhami
Keyword(s):  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Central Atlantic Magmatic Province ◽  
Extinction Event ◽  
Mass Extinction Event ◽  
Central Atlantic

PETROLOGY AND AGE OF THE LEPREAU RIVER DYKE, SOUTHERN NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA: SOURCE OF THE END-TRIASSIC FUNDY GROUP BASALTS

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Gregory McHone ◽  
Sandra M. Barr ◽  
Fred Jourdan
Keyword(s):  
New Brunswick ◽  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Early Mesozoic ◽  
Central Atlantic Magmatic Province ◽  
Extinction Event ◽  
Mass Extinction Event ◽  
Central Atlantic ◽  
Fundy Basin ◽  
Associated Mass

A large dyke of quartz-tholeiitic gabbronorite has been mapped for 59 km in southern New Brunswick, Canada, between Lepreau River in the northeast and Indian Island in the southwest. Scattered outcrops occur along a positive aeromagnetic lineament, providing a dyke strike of N42°E overall (segments N30°E to N72°E), dips of 80° to 90°NNW, and widths of 4 to 30 m. A new 40Ar/39Ar plagioclase age of 201.67 ± 0.35 Ma for the Lepreau River Dyke is similar to dates for the massive North Mountain Basalt in the Fundy Basin to the east. The dyke is associated with the Ministers Island and Christmas Cove dykes, which are indistinguishable in chemistry, petrology, and probable age, and we regard them as segments of the same co-magmatic dyke system. In addition, their petrology is similar to that of the basalts of the adjacent Early Mesozoic Fundy and Grand Manan basins. We propose that the Lepreau River and associated dykes were sources for the regional basin basalts, which in turn are part of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) that overlaps the Triassic-Jurassic boundary and associated mass extinction event.

A tale of two extinctions: converging end-Permian and end-Triassic scenarios

2015 ◽  
Vol 153 (2) ◽  
pp. 332-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
BAS VAN DE SCHOOTBRUGGE ◽  
PAUL B. WIGNALL
Keyword(s):  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Late Triassic ◽  
Temperature Changes ◽  
Forest Dieback ◽  
Central Atlantic Magmatic Province ◽  
Igneous Provinces ◽  
Extinction Events ◽  
Central Atlantic ◽  
Mass Extinction Events ◽  
Cross Fertilization

AbstractThe end-Permian (c.252 Ma) and end-Triassic (c.201 Ma) mass-extinction events are commonly linked to the emplacement of the large igneous provinces of the Siberia Traps and Central Atlantic Magmatic Province, respectively. Accordingly, scenarios for both extinctions are increasingly convergent and cross-fertilization of ideas has become important. Here, we present a synthesis of extinction scenarios based on a critical assessment of the available palaeontological, sedimentological, geochemical and geophysical evidence. How similar were the extinction events, what gaps exist in our understanding and how can a comparison of the events enhance our understanding of each event individually? Our focus is on the most important proximate kill mechanisms including: climate change and atmospheric pollution; increased soil erosion, weathering and runoff; forest dieback and the spread of pathogens; and ocean temperature changes, anoxia and acidification. There is substantial evidence to suggest that very similar kill mechanisms acted upon late Permian as well as Late Triassic ecosystems, strengthening the hypothesis that the ultimate causes of the mass-extinction events were similar.

Land plants and terrestrial environmental changes during the onset of the end-Triassic event

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofie Lindström ◽  
Hans Peter Nytoft ◽  
Gunver K. Pedersen ◽  
Grzegorz Niedzwiedzki ◽  
Karen Dybkjær ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Magmatic Activity ◽  
Central Atlantic Magmatic Province ◽  
Extinction Event ◽  
Mass Extinction Event ◽  
Geochronological Dating ◽  
Ecosystem Changes ◽  
Central Atlantic ◽  
Insight Into

<p>The end-Triassic mass extinction is considered to have been caused by voluminous and repeated emissions of CO<sub>2</sub> and/or methane and other gases from magmatic activity in the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province. Despite improved geochronological dating and correlation between the magmatic activity and the extinctions, exactly how the biotic crisis commenced remains poorly understood. Here, we compile palynological and palaeobotanical data, bulk organic δ<sup>13</sup>C, biomarkers, mercury and other geochemical proxies, charcoal, and sedimentology, from a Rhaetian terrestrial succession in southern Sweden. Our results provide an insight into the climatic, environmental and ecosystem changes that took place at the onset of the mass extinction event.</p>

scholarly journals Mercury evidence for pulsed volcanism during the end-Triassic mass extinction

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (30) ◽  
pp. 7929-7934 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence M. E. Percival ◽  
Micha Ruhl ◽  
Stephen P. Hesselbo ◽  
Hugh C. Jenkyns ◽  
Tamsin A. Mather ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Direct Evidence ◽  
Flood Basalt ◽  
Atmosphere System ◽  
Central Atlantic Magmatic Province ◽  
Biotic Recovery ◽  
Ocean Atmosphere ◽  
Volatile Release ◽  
Extinction Event ◽  
Central Atlantic

The Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) has long been proposed as having a causal relationship with the end-Triassic extinction event (∼201.5 Ma). In North America and northern Africa, CAMP is preserved as multiple basaltic units interbedded with uppermost Triassic to lowermost Jurassic sediments. However, it has been unclear whether this apparent pulsing was a local feature, or if pulses in the intensity of CAMP volcanism characterized the emplacement of the province as a whole. Here, six geographically widespread Triassic–Jurassic records, representing varied paleoenvironments, are analyzed for mercury (Hg) concentrations and Hg/total organic carbon (Hg/TOC) ratios. Volcanism is a major source of mercury to the modern environment. Clear increases in Hg and Hg/TOC are observed at the end-Triassic extinction horizon, confirming that a volcanically induced global Hg cycle perturbation occurred at that time. The established correlation between the extinction horizon and lowest CAMP basalts allows this sedimentary Hg excursion to be stratigraphically tied to a specific flood basalt unit, strengthening the case for volcanic Hg as the driver of sedimentary Hg/TOC spikes. Additional Hg/TOC peaks are also documented between the extinction horizon and the Triassic–Jurassic boundary (separated by ∼200 ky), supporting pulsatory intensity of CAMP volcanism across the entire province and providing direct evidence for episodic volatile release during the initial stages of CAMP emplacement. Pulsatory volcanism, and associated perturbations in the ocean–atmosphere system, likely had profound implications for the rate and magnitude of the end-Triassic mass extinction and subsequent biotic recovery.

scholarly journals Modeling the consequences on late Triassic environment of intense pulse-like degassing during the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province using the GEOCLIM model

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 2075-2110 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Paris ◽  
Y. Donnadieu ◽  
V. Beaumont ◽  
F. Fluteau ◽  
Y. Goddéris
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Cycle ◽  
Carbon Isotope ◽  
Carbon Isotopic Composition ◽  
Late Triassic ◽  
Carbonate Production ◽  
Carbon Isotopic ◽  
Central Atlantic Magmatic Province ◽  
Igneous Provinces ◽  
Central Atlantic ◽  
Sedimentary Carbon

Abstract. The Triassic-Jurassic boundary (TJB) is associated with one of the five largest mass extinctions of the Phanerozoic. A deep carbon cycle perturbation and a carbonate production crisis are observed during the late Triassic. The Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP), one of the most important large igneous provinces of the Phanerozoic, emplaced at the TJB. To understand the carbon cycle perturbations observed at the TJB, we investigate the consequences of CO2 degassing associated to the CAMP emplacement on atmospheric and oceanic carbon cycle. The CO2 input within the atmosphere due to volcanism has been modeled using a global biogeochemical cycle box model (COMBINE) coupled with a climate model (FOAM). Weathering fluxes and CO2 equilibrium are constrained by the Rhaetian paleogeography and different scenarios of the CAMP emplacement are modeled. The study focuses (1) on the geological record and the carbonate productions crisis and (2) on the sedimentary carbon isotope record. For point (1), comparison of different modeling scenarios shows that a Gaussian CO2 emission distribution over the duration of the main activity phase of the CAMP fails in reproducing any of the geological observations, mainly the carbonate production crisis observed in the late Rhaetian sediments. Contrastingly, intense degassing peaks lead to successive decrease in carbonate production as observed in the geological record. For point (2), the perturbations of carbon cycle due to the degassing of CO2 with a mantellic carbon isotopic composition of −5‰ do not reproduce the intensity of the observed carbon isotope excursions. This was achieved in our model by assuming a mantellic carbon isotopic composition of −20‰. Even if this hypothesis requires further investigations, such low values may be associated to degassing of carbon from pools of light isotopic carbon located at the transition zone (Cartigny, 2010), possibly linked to setting of large igneous provinces (LIP's). Breakdown of biological primary productivity can also partially account for the sedimentary carbon isotope excursions and for the observed increase of atmospheric pCO2.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document