Search results for " mass extinction"
showing 7 items of 7 documents
The end-Triassic mass extinction: A new correlation between extinction events and δ13C fluctuations from a Triassic-Jurassic peritidal succession in …
2018
Abstract A new δ13Ccarb curve was obtained from an expanded peritidal succession in western Sicily and was used to investigate the relationships between isotopic signatures and biological events on carbonate platforms across the Triassic-Jurassic boundary (TJB). The resulting curve shows two main negative carbon isotopic excursions (CIEs) that fit well with the “Initial” and “Main” CIEs that are recognized worldwide and linked to the End-Triassic Extinction (ETE). In the studied section, the first negative CIE marks the disappearance of the large megalodontids, which were replaced by small and thin-shelled specimens, while the “Main” CIE corresponds to the last occurrence (LO) of the megalo…
Scientific Reports
2019
Anthropogenic climate change ranks among the major global-scale threats to modern biodiversity. Extinction risks are known to increase via the interactions between rapid climatic alterations and environmentally-sensitive species traits that fail to adapt to those changes. Accumulating evidence reveals the influence of ecophysiological, ecological and phenological factors as drivers underlying demographic collapses that lead to population extinctions. However, the extent to which life-history traits influence population responses to climate change remains largely unexplored. The emerging 'cul-de-sac hypothesis' predicts that reptilian viviparity ('live-bearing' reproduction), a 'key innovati…
Facies stacking and extinctions across the Triassic–Jurassic boundary in a peritidal succession from western Sicily
2017
An uppermost Triassic–lowermost Jurassic carbonate platform succession, which is 430 m thick, in northwestern Sicily is described with the aim to provide new data on the sedimentological and biological variations across the Triassic–Jurassic boundary in peritidal environments. The studied succession belonged to the rimmed carbonate shelf that developed during the upper Triassic along the margins of the Ionian Tethys. The peritidal sediments consist of metre-scale shallowing-upward cycles formed by subtidal, intertidal and supratidal facies. Three main informal units are differentiated along the section on the basis of the variations recorded by the subtidal facies. The lower and middle unit…
An enormous sulfur isotope excursion indicates marine anoxia during the end-Triassic mass extinction
2020
The role of ocean anoxia as a cause of the end-Triassic marine mass extinction is widely debated. Here, we present carbonate-associated sulfate δ34S data from sections spanning the Late Triassic–Early Jurassic transition, which document synchronous large positive excursions on a global scale occurring in ~50 thousand years. Biogeochemical modeling demonstrates that this S isotope perturbation is best explained by a fivefold increase in global pyrite burial, consistent with large-scale development of marine anoxia on the Panthalassa margin and northwest European shelf. This pyrite burial event coincides with the loss of Triassic taxa seen in the studied sections. Modeling results also indica…
Positive Sulfate Sulfur Isotope Excursion Indicates Large-Scale Pyrite Burial and Marine Anoxia during the End–Triassic Mass Extinction
2020
The late Rhaetian–early Hettangian transition is characterised by the emplacement of Central Atlantic magmatic province and associated climatic effects, coincident with a severe biotic crisis (~201.5 Ma). The oxygen deficiency in the ocean realm is possibly linked to this significant loss in marine biodiversity. However, direct evidence of contemporaneous development of marine anoxia on a global scale has been lacking and the relationship between oxygen and extinction is unclear. Here we report carbonate-associated sulfate δ34S data from three sections across the Late Triassic–Early Jurassic transition. We find synchronous large positive δ34S shifts with a magnitude of >10‰ in the latest…
Shallow ocean oxygen decline during the end-Triassic mass extinction
2022
The end-Triassic mass extinction (ETME) was associated with intensified deep-water anoxia in epicontinental seas and mid-depth waters, yet the absolute oxygenation state in the shallow ocean is uncharacterized. Here we report carbonate-associated iodine data from the peritidal Mount Sparagio section (Southern Italy) that documents the ETME (~ 200 Ma) in the western Tethys. We find a sharp drop in carbonate I/(Ca + Mg) ratios across the extinction horizon and persisting into the Early Jurassic. This records local dissolved oxygen and iodate decline in the near-surface ocean of low-latitude Tethys due to the development of depleted oxygen concentrations. Consequently, during the ETME even sha…
End-Triassic Extinction in a Carbonate Platform From Western Tethys: A Comparison Between Extinction Trends and Geochemical Variations
2022
The Triassic/Jurassic boundary section cropping out at Mt Sparagio in north-western Sicily (Italy) consists of a thick and continuous peritidal succession typical of a Tethyan carbonate platform. The combined chemostratigraphic and biostratigraphic study of this section allowed us to parallel the environmental variations inferred by the isotopic records and the extinction trends recorded by the benthic organisms. In the studied section, the isotope data of C, O, and S are indicative of serious environmental perturbations related to the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) activity, as recorded worldwide. Two negative excursions in the C-curve (Initial-CIE and Main-CIE) confirm the acid…