scholarly journals Brittlestar diversity at the dawn of the Jenkyns Event (early Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event): new microfossils from the Dudelange drill core, Luxembourg

2021 ◽  
pp. SP514-2021-3
Author(s):  
Ben Thuy ◽  
Lea D. Numberger-Thuy
Keyword(s):  
Deep Sea ◽  
Fossil Record ◽  
Black Shales ◽  
Drill Core ◽  
Bulk Sediment ◽  
New Genera ◽  
Depositional Facies ◽  
Oceanic Anoxic Event ◽  
Faunal Change ◽  
Anoxic Event

AbstractOphiuroids, the slender-armed cousins of starfish, which constitute an important component of modern marine benthos and have been used successfully in exploration of (palaeo)-ecological and evolutionary trends, yet their fossil record is still poorly known. One of the major gaps in the known palaeobiodiversity of this group coincides with a global palaeoenvironmental crisis during the early Toarcian (Early Jurassic, 183 myr ago), known as the Jenkyns Event. Here, we describe ophiuroid remains retrieved from a series of samples from the Dudelange (Luxembourg) drill core, which spans the lower part of the Toarcian, between the top of the Pliensbachian to the onset of the Jenkyns Event. A total of 21 species are recorded, including three new genera and 12 new species. Ophiuroid diversity and abundance fluctuate in parallel with depositional facies, with lowest values coinciding with black shales. Highest diversities, including exceptional occurrences of taxa nowadays restricted to deep-sea areas, are recorded from just below the black shales corresponding to the onset of the Jenkyns Event. Our results show that even small (100 g) bulk sediment samples retrieved from drill cores can yield numerous identifiable ophiuroid remains, thus unlocking this group for the study of faunal change across palaeoenvironmental crises.

Molecular and petrographical evidence for lacustrine environmental and biotic change in the palaeo-Sichuan mega-lake (China) during the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event

2021 ◽  
pp. SP514-2021-2
Author(s):  
Weimu Xu ◽  
Johan W. H. Weijers ◽  
Micha Ruhl ◽  
Erdem F. Idiz ◽  
Hugh C. Jenkyns ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Sichuan Basin ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Algal Growth ◽  
Black Shales ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Oceanic Anoxic Event ◽  
Anoxic Event ◽  
Supplementary Material ◽  
The Sichuan Basin

AbstractThe organic-rich upper Lower Jurassic Da'anzhai Member (Ziliujing Formation) of the Sichuan Basin, China is the first stratigraphically well-constrained lacustrine succession associated with the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE; ∼183 Ma). The formation and/or expansion of the Sichuan mega-lake, likely one of the most extensive fresh-water systems to have existed on the planet, is marked by large-scale lacustrine organic productivity and carbon burial during the T-OAE, possibly due to intensified hydrological cycling and nutrient supply. New molecular biomarker and organic petrographical analyses, combined with bulk organic and inorganic geochemical and palynological data, are presented here, providing insight into aquatic productivity, land-plant biodiversity, and terrestrial ecosystem evolution in continental interiors during the T-OAE. We show that lacustrine algal growth during the T-OAE accounted for a significant organic-matter flux to the lakebed in the palaeo-Sichuan mega-lake. Lacustrine water-column stratification during the T-OAE facilitated the formation of dysoxic-anoxic conditions at the lake bottom, favouring organic-matter preservation and carbon sequestration into organic-rich black shales in the Sichuan Basin. We attribute the palaeo-Sichuan mega-lake expansion to enhanced hydrological cycling in a more vigorous monsoonal climate in the hinterland during the T-OAE greenhouse.Supplementary material at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5433544

Major palaeoenvironmental upheavals in both marine and terrestrial realms during the Toarcian oceanic anoxic event: a multi-proxy approach

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Galasso ◽  
Susanne Feist­Burkhardt ◽  
Annette Schmid- Röhl ◽  
Stefano Benasconi ◽  
Elke Schneebeli-Hermann
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Isotope ◽  
Seawater Temperature ◽  
Black Shales ◽  
Land Plants ◽  
Open Pit ◽  
Large Igneous Province ◽  
Isotopic Study ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Oceanic Anoxic Event ◽  
Anoxic Event

<p>The Toarcian oceanic anoxic event (TOAE) ~183 Ma is not only associated with oceanic anoxia and rapid seawater temperature increase but also with a marine mass extinction event. These biotic and environmental upheavals are linked to the emplacement of the Karoo-Ferrar large igneous province. Negative carbon excursions and widespread deposition of black shales are typical for Toarcian sedimentary successions.</p><p>The occurrence and growth of dinoflagellates is influenced by environmental factors like oxygen content, salinity, temperature and nutrient availability. For land plants, changes in dominance structure of ecosystems reflected in spore pollen assemblages can be indicative of ecological disturbance. Thus species composition (and morphology) of dinoflagellates and land plants can be used to understand major environmental perturbations.</p><p>An extensively studied TOAE section is the former Rohrbach Zement quarry at Dotternhausen (today Larfarge-Holcim) with comprehensive data of carbon isotope analyses, total organic and inorganic carbon content and rock eval analysis.<br>The Dotternhausen quarry is not accessible anymore but a new open pit in Dormettingen ~2 km NW of Dotternhausen offers excellent outcrop conditions. Litho- and biostratigraphy of the new section is well documented and calibrated to the old Dotternhausen section on subzone levels. Comparison of the two sites showed that sedimentology, geochemistry and faunal data are laterally constant. <br>Palynological analysis of 59 outcrop samples from the Dormettingen section yielded an excellent quantitative data set of the Early Toarcian Posidonienschiefer sediments. Here we provide a high-resolution, multi-proxy study of this section including chemostratigraphy, particulate organic matter and palynology in order to understand the environmental conditions during the TOAE.</p><p>Carbon isotopic study reveals a negative excursion during the TOAE, varying between -33.49‰ and -26.5‰, with a negative shift in the Falciferum Zone (Elengatum, Exeratum and Elegans Subzone) concurrent with the dinoflagellate "blackout".  The vegetation shows significant changes from a mixed assemblage of pollen and spores in the lower part of the section, to exclusively spore-bearing during the negative carbon isotope excursion. The isotopic signal, the marine dinoflagellate “blackout” and the changes in terrestrial vegetation indicate/document major palaeoenvironmental upheavals in both the marine and terrestrial realms.</p>

scholarly journals Basinal restriction, black shales, Re-Os dating, and the Early Toarcian (Jurassic) oceanic anoxic event

2008 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. n/a-n/a ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. McArthur ◽  
T. J. Algeo ◽  
B. van de Schootbrugge ◽  
Q. Li ◽  
R. J. Howarth
Keyword(s):  
Black Shales ◽  
Oceanic Anoxic Event ◽  
Anoxic Event

The rhythmic expression of mid-Cretaceous Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 at IODP Sites U1513 and U1516 (southwest of Australia) 

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sietske Batenburg ◽  
Kara Bogus ◽  
Matthew Jones ◽  
Kenneth Macleod ◽  
Mathieu Martinez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Water Column ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Black Shales ◽  
Carbonate Content ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Oceanic Anoxic Event ◽  
Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 ◽  
Anoxic Event

<p>The widespread deposition of organic-rich black shales during the mid-Cretaceous hothouse at ~94 Ma marked a climatic extreme that is particularly well studied in the Northern Hemisphere. The expression of Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 (OAE 2) in the NH was characterised by low oceanic oxygen concentrations, likely caused by the input of nutrients through volcanism and/or weathering in combination with a peculiar geography in which the proto-North Atlantic was semi-restricted (Jenkyns, 2010; Trabucho Alexandre et al., 2010). The extent of water column anoxia outside the North Atlantic and Tethyan domains remains poorly resolved, as few Southern Hemisphere records have been recovered that span OAE 2, and only a portion of those Indian and Pacific Ocean localities experienced anoxia and organic matter deposition (Dickson et al., 2017; Hasegawa et al., 2013).</p><p> </p><p>Here we present new results from IODP Expedition 369 offshore southwestern Australia. Sedimentary records across the Cenomanian-Turonian transition from Sites U1513 and U1516 in the Mentelle Basin (Indian Ocean) display rhythmic lithologic banding patterns. The OAE 2 interval is marked by a dramatic drop in carbonate content and the occurrence of several thin organic-rich black bands. The spacing of dark bands within a rhythmic sequence suggests a potential orbital control on organic matter deposition at our study sites. Time series analyses of high-resolution (cm-scale) elemental data from XRF-core scanning reveal the imprint of periodicities that can be confidently linked to Earth’s orbital parameters. The new OAE 2 records from Sites U1516 and U1513 allow us to i) evaluate existing time scales over the Cenomanian-Turonian transition, and ii) investigate the mechanisms leading to a recurrent lack of oxygen in the Indian Ocean.</p><p> </p><p>Climatic mechanisms translating changes in insolation to variations in organic matter deposition may have included variations in nutrient input from nearby continents and shifts in water column structure affecting local to regional stratification versus deep water formation and advection. Investigating ventilation of the deep sea during the OAE2 interval is of heightened relevance as current global warming is leading to a worldwide expansion of oxygen minimum zones (Pörtner et al., 2019).</p><p> </p><p>References:</p><p>Dickson, A.J., et al., 2017. Sedimentology 64, 186–203.</p><p>Hasegawa, et al., 2013. Cretaceous Research 40, 61–80.</p><p>Jenkyns, H.C., 2010. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 11, Q03004.</p><p>Pörtner, H.O., et al., 2019. IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: Geneva, Switzerland.</p><p>Trabucho Alexandre, J., et al., 2010. Paleoceanography 25, PA</p>

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