Climate-forced Hg-remobilization associated with fern mutagenesis in the aftermath of the end-Triassic extinction

Remco Bos (), Wang Zheng (), Sofie Lindström, Hamed Sanei, Irene Waajen, Isabel M. Fendley, Tamsin A. Mather, Yang Wang, Jan Rohovec, Tomáš Navrátil, Appy Sluijs and Bas Schootbrugge
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Remco Bos: Utrecht University
Wang Zheng: Tianjin University
Sofie Lindström: Copenhagen University
Hamed Sanei: Aarhus University
Irene Waajen: Utrecht University
Isabel M. Fendley: University of Oxford
Tamsin A. Mather: University of Oxford
Yang Wang: Tianjin University
Jan Rohovec: Institute of Geology of the Czech Academy of Sciences
Tomáš Navrátil: Institute of Geology of the Czech Academy of Sciences
Appy Sluijs: Utrecht University
Bas Schootbrugge: Utrecht University

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract The long-term effects of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province, a large igneous province connected to the end-Triassic mass-extinction (201.5 Ma), remain largely elusive. Here, we document the persistence of volcanic-induced mercury (Hg) pollution and its effects on the biosphere for ~1.3 million years after the extinction event. In sediments recovered in Germany (Schandelah-1 core), we record not only high abundances of malformed fern spores at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary, but also during the lower Jurassic Hettangian, indicating repeated vegetation disturbance and stress that was eccentricity-forced. Crucially, these abundances correspond to increases in sedimentary Hg-concentrations. Hg-isotope ratios (δ202Hg, Δ199Hg) suggest a volcanic source of Hg-enrichment at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary but a terrestrial source for the early Jurassic peaks. We conclude that volcanically injected Hg across the extinction was repeatedly remobilized from coastal wetlands and hinterland areas during eccentricity-forced phases of severe hydrological upheaval and erosion, focusing Hg-pollution in the Central European Basin.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47922-0

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