Basin-scale reconstruction of euxinia and Late Devonian mass extinctions

Swapan K. Sahoo (), Geoffrey J. Gilleaudeau, Kathleen Wilson, Bruce Hart, Ben D. Barnes, Tytrice Faison, Andrew R. Bowman, Toti E. Larson and Alan J. Kaufman
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Swapan K. Sahoo: Equinor US
Geoffrey J. Gilleaudeau: George Mason University
Kathleen Wilson: Boston College
Bruce Hart: Equinor US
Ben D. Barnes: Pennsylvania State University
Tytrice Faison: University of Maryland
Andrew R. Bowman: Gaia Paleontological Services LLC
Toti E. Larson: University of Texas at Austin
Alan J. Kaufman: University of Maryland

Nature, 2023, vol. 615, issue 7953, 640-645

Abstract: Abstract The Devonian–Carboniferous transition marks a fundamental shift in the surface environment primarily related to changes in ocean–atmosphere oxidation states1,2, resulting from the continued proliferation of vascular land plants that stimulated the hydrological cycle and continental weathering3,4, glacioeustasy5,6, eutrophication and anoxic expansion in epicontinental seas3,4, and mass extinction events2,7,8. Here we present a comprehensive spatial and temporal compilation of geochemical data from 90 cores across the entire Bakken Shale (Williston Basin, North America). Our dataset allows for the detailed documentation of stepwise transgressions of toxic euxinic waters into the shallow oceans that drove a series of Late Devonian extinction events. Other Phanerozoic extinctions have also been related to the expansion of shallow-water euxinia, indicating that hydrogen sulfide toxicity was a key driver of Phanerozoic biodiversity.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05716-2

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