Hot acidic Late Permian seas stifle life in record time

TY - JOUR

T1 - Hot acidic Late Permian seas stifle life in record time

AU - Georgiev, Svetoslav

AU - Stein, Holly J.

AU - Hannah, Judith L.

AU - Bingen, Bernard

AU - Weiss, Hermann M.

AU - Piasecki, Stefan

PY - 2011/10/15

Y1 - 2011/10/15

N2 - The end of Permian time (252-251Ma) hosts the largest mass extinction in Earth history, yet events heralding this global catastrophe remain intensely disputed. We present a chemostratigraphic marker, the 187Re/188Os ratio, which soars to unprecedented levels approaching the Permo-Triassic boundary. These ratios are tied to profound trace element changes and a precise Re-Os time record at 252Ma preserved in black shales from East Greenland and the mid-Norwegian shelf. Within a 36-meter shale section, an 80-fold increase in Re concentrations (two-fold for Os) signals seawater conditions that became increasingly inhospitable to life. Unwavering initial 187Os/188Os ratios of 0.6 preclude mafic volcanism and meteorite impact as the direct cause of Late Permian anoxia. We argue that extraordinarily high 187Re/188Os ratios are the hallmark of simultaneously rising ocean temperature and acidity, leading to loss of oxygen and the stifling of life in latest Permian time.

AB - The end of Permian time (252-251Ma) hosts the largest mass extinction in Earth history, yet events heralding this global catastrophe remain intensely disputed. We present a chemostratigraphic marker, the 187Re/188Os ratio, which soars to unprecedented levels approaching the Permo-Triassic boundary. These ratios are tied to profound trace element changes and a precise Re-Os time record at 252Ma preserved in black shales from East Greenland and the mid-Norwegian shelf. Within a 36-meter shale section, an 80-fold increase in Re concentrations (two-fold for Os) signals seawater conditions that became increasingly inhospitable to life. Unwavering initial 187Os/188Os ratios of 0.6 preclude mafic volcanism and meteorite impact as the direct cause of Late Permian anoxia. We argue that extraordinarily high 187Re/188Os ratios are the hallmark of simultaneously rising ocean temperature and acidity, leading to loss of oxygen and the stifling of life in latest Permian time.

U2 - 10.1016/j.epsl.2011.08.010

DO - 10.1016/j.epsl.2011.08.010

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0012-821X

VL - 310

SP - 389

EP - 400

JO - Earth and Planetary Science Letters

JF - Earth and Planetary Science Letters

IS - 3-4

ER -