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Compound-specific carbon isotopes from Earth's largest flood basalt eruptions directly linked to the end-Triassic mass extinction

Compound-specific carbon isotopes from Earth's largest flood basalt eruptions directly linked to the end-Triassic mass extinction
Compound-specific carbon isotopes from Earth's largest flood basalt eruptions directly linked to the end-Triassic mass extinction
A leading hypothesis explaining Phanerozoic mass extinctions and associated carbon isotopic anomalies is the emission of greenhouse, other gases, and aerosols caused by eruptions of continental flood basalt provinces. However, the necessary serial relationship between these eruptions, isotopic excursions, and extinctions has never been tested in geological sections preserving all three records. The end-Triassic extinction (ETE) at 201.4 Ma is among the largest of these extinctions and is tied to a large negative carbon isotope excursion, reflecting perturbations of the carbon cycle including a transient increase in CO2. The cause of the ETE has been inferred to be the eruption of the giant Central Atlantic magmatic province (CAMP). Here, we show that carbon isotopes of leaf wax derived lipids (n-alkanes), wood, and total organic carbon from two orbitally paced lacustrine sections interbedded with the CAMP in eastern North America show similar excursions to those seen in the mostly marine St. Audrie’s Bay section in England. Based on these results, the ETE began synchronously in marine and terrestrial environments slightly before the oldest basalts in eastern North America but simultaneous with the eruption of the oldest flows in Morocco, a CO2 super greenhouse, and marine biocalcification crisis. Because the temporal relationship between CAMP eruptions, mass extinction, and the carbon isotopic excursions are shown in the same place, this is the strongest case for a volcanic cause of a mass extinction to date.
astrochronology, co2, jurassic, large igneous provinces, n-alkane
0027-8424
6721-6725
Whiteside, Jessica H.
5d9ad7aa-eba3-4ad9-9f6f-81be71b6829b
Olsen, Paul E.
bdbec40b-82ed-41ac-8028-b6c333206f16
Eglinton, Timothy
53fd77e1-6865-4dec-8715-4498acbea63d
Brookfield, Michael E.
39f00297-3e98-4faf-b80f-f7fc9369838e
Sambrotto, Raymond N.
c45509f0-f233-43bd-baf4-bdce9e664323
Whiteside, Jessica H.
5d9ad7aa-eba3-4ad9-9f6f-81be71b6829b
Olsen, Paul E.
bdbec40b-82ed-41ac-8028-b6c333206f16
Eglinton, Timothy
53fd77e1-6865-4dec-8715-4498acbea63d
Brookfield, Michael E.
39f00297-3e98-4faf-b80f-f7fc9369838e
Sambrotto, Raymond N.
c45509f0-f233-43bd-baf4-bdce9e664323

Whiteside, Jessica H., Olsen, Paul E., Eglinton, Timothy, Brookfield, Michael E. and Sambrotto, Raymond N. (2010) Compound-specific carbon isotopes from Earth's largest flood basalt eruptions directly linked to the end-Triassic mass extinction. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107 (15), 6721-6725. (doi:10.1073/pnas.1001706107).

Record type: Article

Abstract

A leading hypothesis explaining Phanerozoic mass extinctions and associated carbon isotopic anomalies is the emission of greenhouse, other gases, and aerosols caused by eruptions of continental flood basalt provinces. However, the necessary serial relationship between these eruptions, isotopic excursions, and extinctions has never been tested in geological sections preserving all three records. The end-Triassic extinction (ETE) at 201.4 Ma is among the largest of these extinctions and is tied to a large negative carbon isotope excursion, reflecting perturbations of the carbon cycle including a transient increase in CO2. The cause of the ETE has been inferred to be the eruption of the giant Central Atlantic magmatic province (CAMP). Here, we show that carbon isotopes of leaf wax derived lipids (n-alkanes), wood, and total organic carbon from two orbitally paced lacustrine sections interbedded with the CAMP in eastern North America show similar excursions to those seen in the mostly marine St. Audrie’s Bay section in England. Based on these results, the ETE began synchronously in marine and terrestrial environments slightly before the oldest basalts in eastern North America but simultaneous with the eruption of the oldest flows in Morocco, a CO2 super greenhouse, and marine biocalcification crisis. Because the temporal relationship between CAMP eruptions, mass extinction, and the carbon isotopic excursions are shown in the same place, this is the strongest case for a volcanic cause of a mass extinction to date.

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More information

e-pub ahead of print date: 22 March 2010
Published date: 13 April 2010
Keywords: astrochronology, co2, jurassic, large igneous provinces, n-alkane
Organisations: Paleooceanography & Palaeoclimate

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 354770
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/354770
ISSN: 0027-8424
PURE UUID: 5145a1c5-56fa-4e50-a2a1-c7b992c73ee3

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Date deposited: 19 Jul 2013 10:28
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 14:24

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Contributors

Author: Paul E. Olsen
Author: Timothy Eglinton
Author: Michael E. Brookfield
Author: Raymond N. Sambrotto

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