Recurring photic zone euxinia in the northwest Tethys impinged end-Triassic extinction recovery
Recurring photic zone euxinia in the northwest Tethys impinged end-Triassic extinction recovery
The end-Triassic extinction (ETE) is associated with rapid atmospheric CO2-driven warming amplified by positive feedbacks involving weathering, nutrient oversupply, water column anoxia and sul.fate reduction. These conditions culminated in photic zone euxinia (PZE) at least locally in the Western Tethys, but its broader extent across northwest Europe has yet to be identified. Here we present new biomarker and bulk δ13Corg isotopic data that document redox and palaeoecological changes from two end-Triassic sites in the Western Tethys: Felixkirk, in the Cleveland Basin, northeast England, and Lavernock Point, in the Bristol Channel Basin, S Wales. The presence of aryl isoprenoids and Chlorobi-derived isorenieratane indicates shoaling of anoxia and toxic H2S to the photic zone caused by flooding in restricted or semi-enclosed basins. Oscillating redox conditions and severe PZE prevented a swift recovery of at least the benthic ecosystem across several British basins. Additionally, in concert with recent discoveries in the Bristol Channel Basin, in the Cleveland Basin we find that the ‘initial’ negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE) is related to a localized change in organic matter sources. PZE in British and other European basins points towards H2S toxicity as an extinction driver for the Western Tethys, highlighting the need for a global characterization of redox changes across the end-Triassic and other extinction events.
Chlorobi, End-Triassic mass extinction, Lipid biomarkers, Photic zone euxinia, Tethys Ocean
Beith, Sarah Jane
c6f4a540-d132-47a8-b24c-7d5007ccc99f
Fox, Calum P.
11adb22e-5474-4e6a-966a-c5da6090b352
Marshall, John E.A.
45f0ef7d-6f22-4366-8c0a-53ce2064c35f
Whiteside, Jessica H.
7d7d9398-2320-4ed1-b39e-5e5bf0174215
15 December 2021
Beith, Sarah Jane
c6f4a540-d132-47a8-b24c-7d5007ccc99f
Fox, Calum P.
11adb22e-5474-4e6a-966a-c5da6090b352
Marshall, John E.A.
45f0ef7d-6f22-4366-8c0a-53ce2064c35f
Whiteside, Jessica H.
7d7d9398-2320-4ed1-b39e-5e5bf0174215
Beith, Sarah Jane, Fox, Calum P., Marshall, John E.A. and Whiteside, Jessica H.
(2021)
Recurring photic zone euxinia in the northwest Tethys impinged end-Triassic extinction recovery.
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 584, [110680].
(doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2021.110680).
Abstract
The end-Triassic extinction (ETE) is associated with rapid atmospheric CO2-driven warming amplified by positive feedbacks involving weathering, nutrient oversupply, water column anoxia and sul.fate reduction. These conditions culminated in photic zone euxinia (PZE) at least locally in the Western Tethys, but its broader extent across northwest Europe has yet to be identified. Here we present new biomarker and bulk δ13Corg isotopic data that document redox and palaeoecological changes from two end-Triassic sites in the Western Tethys: Felixkirk, in the Cleveland Basin, northeast England, and Lavernock Point, in the Bristol Channel Basin, S Wales. The presence of aryl isoprenoids and Chlorobi-derived isorenieratane indicates shoaling of anoxia and toxic H2S to the photic zone caused by flooding in restricted or semi-enclosed basins. Oscillating redox conditions and severe PZE prevented a swift recovery of at least the benthic ecosystem across several British basins. Additionally, in concert with recent discoveries in the Bristol Channel Basin, in the Cleveland Basin we find that the ‘initial’ negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE) is related to a localized change in organic matter sources. PZE in British and other European basins points towards H2S toxicity as an extinction driver for the Western Tethys, highlighting the need for a global characterization of redox changes across the end-Triassic and other extinction events.
Text
Beith et al_main MS_resubmission
- Accepted Manuscript
Text
Beith et al_Supplemental Information Table S.2_resubmission
- Accepted Manuscript
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 26 September 2021
e-pub ahead of print date: 30 September 2021
Published date: 15 December 2021
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
P. Sargent Bray and Megan Wilding are thanked for laboratory assistance and the British Geological Survey staff in Keyworth, during core sampling. We thank Darren Gröcke for kindly generating some of the bulk carbon isotopic data from Felixkirk. Matthew Strongman and Jack Oughton are acknowledged for assisting with sample collection during fieldwork. Amy L. Elson is thanked for her helpful feedback on an earlier draft of the manuscript. Zhong-Qiang Chen and an anonymous reviewer are thanked for helpful comments during the review process. Support for analytical funding was provided by an Annual Adventures in Research award to J.H.W. C.P.F. acknowledges Khalifa University of Science and Technology (Grant CIRA-2019-066 ).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier B.V.
Keywords:
Chlorobi, End-Triassic mass extinction, Lipid biomarkers, Photic zone euxinia, Tethys Ocean
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 451901
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/451901
ISSN: 0031-0182
PURE UUID: 20b8005a-6ea8-4d8b-b804-2b6ed9c6b7c2
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 03 Nov 2021 17:30
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 06:56
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Author:
Sarah Jane Beith
Author:
Calum P. Fox
Author:
John E.A. Marshall
Author:
Jessica H. Whiteside
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics