Abstract
Earth’s history is marked by multiple events of ocean anoxia developing along continental margins and po¬tentially into the open ocean realm. These events of¬ten coincide with the emplacement of large igneous provinces (LIPs) on continents, major perturbations of global geochemical cycles and marine (mass) ex¬tinction. The geographic and temporal extend and the intensity (ferruginous vs. euxinic) of anoxic con¬ditions is, however, strongly debated and not well constraint. This complicates understanding of close coupling between Earth’s physical, chemical and bi¬ological processes.
We studied ocean redox change over the largest mass extinction event in Earth history, at the Permian-Tri¬assic boundary (at ~252 Ma). This event is marked by a major perturbation in the global exogenic carbon cycle (and associated major negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE)), likely initiated by carbon outgassing from the Siberian Traps. We measured redox-sensitive trace element concentrations (e.g. Mo, Cu, U) and the speciation of iron [Fe-HR/Fe-T and Fe-PY/ Fe- HR] in marine sediments from Svalbard (Festningen). We compare these data to additional, new, high-lati-tude data from eastern Greenland and the equatorial Tethys realm in Iran. We show that the Permian-Tri¬assic boundary at Svalbard is marked by 2 phases of euxinic (sulfidic) ocean conditions. An initial short phase at the onset of atmospheric carbon release is separated from a subsequent longer phase by a re¬turn to ferruginous ocean conditions (anoxic but not euxinic) coinciding with the main extinction event. Molybdenum enrichments, often indicative for freely available sulfide in the water-column, only occur dur¬ing the second phase of euxinia.
This pattern of ocean redox-change in Svalbard direct¬ly reflects similar trends in Greenland and Iran. It sug¬gests a strongly decreased global ocean molybdenum (and possibly also ocean sulfate) inventory by massive molybdenum drawdown (and possibly pyrite buri¬al) at the onset of end-Permian atmospheric carbon release and leading up to the Permian-Triassic mass extinction. We compare these oceanographic changes to similar observations for the Triassic-Jurassic mass extinction and discuss environmental forcing, poten¬tially inherent to major volcanic events and leading to global environmental change and extinction
We studied ocean redox change over the largest mass extinction event in Earth history, at the Permian-Tri¬assic boundary (at ~252 Ma). This event is marked by a major perturbation in the global exogenic carbon cycle (and associated major negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE)), likely initiated by carbon outgassing from the Siberian Traps. We measured redox-sensitive trace element concentrations (e.g. Mo, Cu, U) and the speciation of iron [Fe-HR/Fe-T and Fe-PY/ Fe- HR] in marine sediments from Svalbard (Festningen). We compare these data to additional, new, high-lati-tude data from eastern Greenland and the equatorial Tethys realm in Iran. We show that the Permian-Tri¬assic boundary at Svalbard is marked by 2 phases of euxinic (sulfidic) ocean conditions. An initial short phase at the onset of atmospheric carbon release is separated from a subsequent longer phase by a re¬turn to ferruginous ocean conditions (anoxic but not euxinic) coinciding with the main extinction event. Molybdenum enrichments, often indicative for freely available sulfide in the water-column, only occur dur¬ing the second phase of euxinia.
This pattern of ocean redox-change in Svalbard direct¬ly reflects similar trends in Greenland and Iran. It sug¬gests a strongly decreased global ocean molybdenum (and possibly also ocean sulfate) inventory by massive molybdenum drawdown (and possibly pyrite buri¬al) at the onset of end-Permian atmospheric carbon release and leading up to the Permian-Triassic mass extinction. We compare these oceanographic changes to similar observations for the Triassic-Jurassic mass extinction and discuss environmental forcing, poten¬tially inherent to major volcanic events and leading to global environmental change and extinction
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | The Permian Strata of Svalbard : Norwegian Polar institute, Tromsø, april 10-12, 2013 Abstracts and Proceedings |
| Editors | David Bond, Dierk Blomeier |
| Number of pages | 2 |
| Publisher | Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) |
| Publication date | 2013 |
| Pages | 20-21 |
| Publication status | Published - 2013 |
Keywords
- Faculty of Science