Repeated pulses of volcanism drove the end-Permian terrestrial crisis in northwest China

Jacopo Dal Corso (), Robert J. Newton (), Aubrey L. Zerkle, Daoliang Chu, Haijun Song, Huyue Song, Li Tian, Jinnan Tong, Tommaso Di Rocco, Mark W. Claire, Tamsin A. Mather, Tianchen He, Timothy Gallagher, Wenchao Shu, Yuyang Wu, Simon H. Bottrell, Ian Metcalfe, Helen A. Cope, Martin Novak, Robert A. Jamieson and Paul B. Wignall
Additional contact information
Jacopo Dal Corso: University of Leeds
Robert J. Newton: University of Leeds
Aubrey L. Zerkle: University of St Andrews
Daoliang Chu: China University of Geosciences Wuhan
Haijun Song: China University of Geosciences Wuhan
Huyue Song: China University of Geosciences Wuhan
Li Tian: China University of Geosciences Wuhan
Jinnan Tong: China University of Geosciences Wuhan
Tommaso Di Rocco: University of St Andrews
Mark W. Claire: University of St Andrews
Tamsin A. Mather: University of Oxford
Tianchen He: University of Leeds
Timothy Gallagher: Kent State University
Wenchao Shu: China University of Geosciences Wuhan
Yuyang Wu: China University of Geosciences Wuhan
Simon H. Bottrell: University of Leeds
Ian Metcalfe: University of New England
Helen A. Cope: University of Leeds
Martin Novak: Czech Geological Survey
Robert A. Jamieson: University of Leeds
Paul B. Wignall: University of Leeds

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract The Permo-Triassic mass extinction was linked to catastrophic environmental changes and large igneous province (LIP) volcanism. In addition to the widespread marine losses, the Permo–Triassic event was the most severe terrestrial ecological crisis in Earth’s history and the only known mass extinction among insects, but the cause of extinction on land remains unclear. In this study, high-resolution Hg concentration records and multiple-archive S-isotope analyses of sediments from the Junggar Basin (China) provide evidence of repeated pulses of volcanic-S (acid rain) and increased Hg loading culminating in a crisis of terrestrial biota in the Junggar Basin coeval with the interval of LIP emplacement. Minor S-isotope analyses are, however, inconsistent with total ozone layer collapse. Our data suggest that LIP volcanism repeatedly stressed end-Permian terrestrial environments in the ~300 kyr preceding the marine extinction locally via S-driven acidification and deposition of Hg, and globally via pulsed addition of CO2.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-51671-5

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