The end-Permian mass extinction was the most severe ecological event during the Phanerozoic and has long been presumed contemporaneous across terrestrial and marine realms with global environmental deterioration triggered by the Siberian Traps Large Igneous Province. We present high-precision zircon U-Pb geochronology by the chemical abrasion-isotope dilution-thermal ionization mass spectrometry technique on tuffs from terrestrial to transitional coastal settings in Southwest China, which reveals a protracted collapse of the Cathaysian rainforest beginning after the onset of the end-Permian marine extinction. Integrated with high-resolution geochronology from coeval successions, our results suggest that the terrestrial extinction occurred diachronously with latitude, beginning at high latitudes during the late Changhsingian and progressing to the tropics by the early Induan, spanning a duration of nearly 1 million years. This latitudinal age gradient may have been related to variations in surface warming with more degraded environmental conditions at higher latitudes contributing to higher extinction rates.

Permian–Triassic extinction event

Extinction (optical mineralogy)

Geochronology

10.1126/sciadv.adi7284

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Evolution of primary producers and productivity across the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition

Precambrian Research (2018)

Lei Xiang Shane D. Schoepfer Hua Zhang Changqun Cao Shu‐zhong Shen

Isotopes of nitrogen

10.1016/j.precamres.2018.05.023

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Zinc isotope evidence for intensive magmatism immediately before the end-Permian mass extinction

Geology (2017)

Sheng‐Ao Liu Huaichun Wu Shu‐zhong Shen Ganqing Jiang Shihong Zhang

Abstract The end-Permian extinction is typically ascribed to massive volcanic eruptions, but direct geochemical evidence linking the two independent events is generally lacking. Zinc is an important micronutrient of marine phytoplanktons, and Zn isotope (δ66Zn) ratios of seawater are markedly higher than those of volcanic rocks and riverine waters. We conducted high-resolution Zn concentration and Zn isotope analyses on carbonate rocks across the Permian-Triassic boundary (PTB) in the Meishan section of south China. An abrupt increase of Zn concentration and a concomitant 0.5‰ decrease in δ66Zn occur ∼35 k.y. before the mass extinction and carbon isotope (δ13C) minima. Mass balance calculation demonstrates that a 0.5‰ negative shift in δ66Zn within thousands of years requires rapid and massive input of isotopically light Zn from volcanic ashes, hydrothermal inputs, and/or extremely fast weathering of large igneous provinces. A positive δ66Zn shift of as much as 1.0‰ following the mass extinction demonstrates that primary productivity recovered and reached a maximum in fewer than 360 k.y. Our finding provides insights into the marine Zn cycling across the PTB and clarifies the temporal relationship and duration of events, including intensive volcanism, carbon isotope excursion, mass extinction, and widespread ocean anoxia.

Permian–Triassic extinction event

10.1130/g38644.1

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Citations (106)