Time-calibrated Milankovitch cycles for the late Permian

Huaichun Wu (), Shihong Zhang, Linda A. Hinnov (), Ganqing Jiang, Qinglai Feng, Haiyan Li and Tianshui Yang
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Huaichun Wu: State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences
Shihong Zhang: State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences
Linda A. Hinnov: Johns Hopkins University
Ganqing Jiang: University of Nevada
Qinglai Feng: State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences
Haiyan Li: State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences
Tianshui Yang: State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences

Nature Communications, 2013, vol. 4, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract An important innovation in the geosciences is the astronomical time scale. The astronomical time scale is based on the Milankovitch-forced stratigraphy that has been calibrated to astronomical models of paleoclimate forcing; it is defined for much of Cenozoic–Mesozoic. For the Palaeozoic era, however, astronomical forcing has not been widely explored because of lack of high-precision geochronology or astronomical modelling. Here we report Milankovitch cycles from late Permian (Lopingian) strata at Meishan and Shangsi, South China, time calibrated by recent high-precision U–Pb dating. The evidence extends empirical knowledge of Earth’s astronomical parameters before 250 million years ago. Observed obliquity and precession terms support a 22-h length-of-day. The reconstructed astronomical time scale indicates a 7.793-million year duration for the Lopingian epoch, when strong 405-kyr cycles constrain astronomical modelling. This is the first significant advance in defining the Palaeozoic astronomical time scale, anchored to absolute time, bridging the Palaeozoic–Mesozoic transition.

Date: 2013
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms3452

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