postapocalyptic greenhouse paleoclimate revealed by earliest triassic paleosols in the sydney basin australia the permian triassic boundary in the sydney basin of australia is coincident with a pronounced decrease in 13 c isotopic values of organic carbon the last coals anywhere in the world for all of the early triassic ca 6 m y time and extirpation of the glossopteris flora at the top of the illawarra and newcastle coal measures coal bearing paleosols of the latest permian represent extensive swamplands of the seasonally deciduous glossopteris flora in a humid cold temperate lowland southwest of an andean style volcanic arc stone rolls large ribs of floor rock up into the coal within some of the uppermost coals of the permian coal measures can be interpreted as string bogs of a kind now found in cold climates at latitudes of 68 70 which is compatible with a paleomagnetically estimated paleolatitude of 65 85 s for the sydney basin paleolatitude was not much different for earliest triassic time but paleosols of that age include inceptisols and entisols showing substantial chemical and textural weathering more like soils now forming at latitudes of 40 58 than those within polar circles this anomalous high latitude warmth set in at the permian triassic boundary sedimentation rates increased at the boundary marked by geochemically unusual acidification of clay and a dramatic carbon isotopic excursion these changes in environments and ecosystems can be explained by soil erosion following deforestation implied by the plant extinctions and abundant fungal remains at the permian triassic boundary evidence from paleosols can now be added to that from paleontological and isotopic studies showing that disruption of the carbon cycle at the permian triassic boundary resulted in a co 2 or ch 4 post apocalyptic greenhouse paleoclimate

the posidonia shale lower toarcian of sw germany an oxygen depleted ecosystem controlled by sea level and palaeoclimate abstract the lower toarcian posidonia shale is famous for its excellently preserved fossils and its high amount of organic matter up to 16 both quality of preservation and accumulation of organic matter have been explained by permanent anoxic bottom water conditions high resolution geochemical sedimentological and palaeoecological investigations of various sections of the posidonia shale in sw germany however indicate that oxygen availability was variable and ranged from short oxygenated periods to longer term anoxia the benthic macrofauna consists of nine fossil communities and was used in combination with geochemical data to reconstruct a time averaged oxygen curve anoxic conditions prevailed during the deposition of the toarcian black shales they were however punctuated by various short periods weeks to years with oxygenated bottom water conditions sedimentological e g distinctiveness of microlamination siliciclastic content and geochemical parameters e g organic matter content isotopic signatures 18o and 13c molecular redox parameters pristane phytane ratio arylisoprenoids exhibit a remarkable covariation and seem to be controlled by sea level fluctuations maximum oxygen depletion and an extreme negative shift of 13corg values 34 occurred during the early falciferum zone this is explained by the recycling of 12c enriched carbon derived from remineralization of organic matter on and within the substrate during low sea level stand and a highly elevated redox boundary including photic zone anoxia the subsequent transgression permitted enhanced water exchange with the tethyan ocean and caused improvement of living conditions at the end of the falciferum zone other important factors controlling the depositional environment are the overall palaeogeographic situation and climate the early jurassic is the latest period before break up of pangaea and probably was ruled by a strong meridional atmospheric circulation system with pronounced seasonal changes of prevailing trade and monsoon wind systems an estuarine circulation with a positive water balance and surface water with slightly reduced salinity in the summer alternated with an anti estuarine circulation and a negative water balance in the winter during the summer months a stratified water column with anoxic conditions below the halocline developed 18o data indicate low salinity in the surface water during the monsoon influenced summer high productivity was then located in the photic zone and the corresponding isotopically light 18o signal was fixed in the calcareous nannoplankton during the winter months a saline circulation system brought oxygen to the benthic environment favouring temporary benthic colonization especially during times of relative sea level high stand

calibration of early middle toarcian nannofossil events based on high resolution ammonite biostratigraphy in two expanded sections from the iberian range east spain abstract this work deals with refined nannofossil biostratigraphy in two well documented lower middle toarcian sections in the iberian range the sampled shallow carbonate ramp deposits belong to the turmiel fm and consist of an alternation of marls and limestones both lithologies yield common and well preserved ammonite assemblages which provide a refined ammonite biostratigraphic framework a significant calcareous nannofossil composition change has been recognized within the serpentinus zone and a useful succession of nannofossil events has been calibrated to the ammonite biostratigraphy this succession includes fo of lotharingius sigillatus mirabile subzone lo of mitrolithus jansae semicelatum subzone fo of carinolithus cantaluppii strangewaysi subzone los of biscutum grande and biscutum finchii lower part of the serpentinus zone fo of carinolithus superbus strangewaysi falciferum boundary fo of lotharingius velatus falciferum subzone fos of discorhabdus striatus and discorhabdus ignotus serpentinus bifrons boundary and acme end of lotharingius hauffii variabilis illustris boundary in the studied sections the composition changes the biohorizons recognized and their succession are closely comparable with other early middle toarcian boreal sections

snow thickness profiling on antarctic sea ice with gpr rapid and accurate measurements with the potential to upscale needles to a haystack snow thickness on sea ice is a largely under sampled parameter yet of importance for the sea ice mass balance and for satellite based sea ice thickness estimates and thus our general understanding of global ice volume change traditional direct thickness measurements with meter sticks can provide accurate but only spot information referred to as needles due to their pinpoint focus and information while airborne and satellite remote sensing snow products referred to as the haystack have large uncertainties due to their scale we demonstrate the remarkable accuracy and applicability of ground penetrating radar gpr snow thickness measurements by comparing them with in situ meter stick data from two field campaigns to antarctica in late winter early spring the efficiency and millimeter to centimeter accuracy of gpr enables practitioners to acquire extensive semi regional data with the potential to upscale needles to the haystack and to potentially calibrate satellite remote sensing products that we confirm to derive roughly 30 of the in situ thickness we find the radar wave propagation velocity in snow to be rather constant 6 encouraging regional snow thickness surveys snow thinner than 10 cm is under the detection limit with the off the shelf gpr setup utilized in our study

formation processes of framboidal pyrite abstract pyrite framboid formation may be the result of four consecutive processes 1 nucleation and growth of initial iron monosulfide microcrystals 2 reaction of the microcrystals to greigite fe 3 s 4 3 aggregation of uniformly sized greigite microcrystals i e framboid growth and 4 replacement of greigite framboids by pyrite the uniform morphology uniform size range and ordering of the microcrystals in individual framboids as well as the range of observed framboid structures from irregular aggregates to densely packed spherical aggregates and polyframboids are consequences of these processes using dlvo theory derjaguin landau verwey and overbeek we have evaluated the stability of colloidal iron monosulfide suspensions with ionic strengths typical of marine and lacustrine waters in addition to van der waals attractive and double layer repulsive forces a term is included to account for the ferrimagnetic properties of greigite numerical models predict that magnetically saturated greigite particles 0 1 m in diameter will rapidly aggregate in either marine or fresh water the aggregation model is in agreement with the sequence of greigite formation followed by pyrite framboid formation established in a previous experimental study sweeney and kaplan 1973 and is consistent with the occurrence of framboids composed of other magnetic minerals e g greigite magnetite and magnesioferrite based on the temperature dependent magnetic properties of greigite and aging experiments in hydrothermal solutions this mechanism for framboid formation via precursor greigite could operate to temperatures of 200 c consistent with the occasional occurrence of pyrite framboids in the paragenesis of metalliferous ore deposits

the influence of channel geometry on the fine scale structure of radiation from lightning return strokes evidence is presented indicating that channel geometry is a factor in determining the shape of the electric field waveforms radiated by subsequent return strokes in cloud to ground lightning the data consist of 61 subsequent return strokes in both triggered flashes and natural lightning recorded at the nasa kennedy space center during the summer of 1987 in the case of the triggered flashes the data include the electric field change the current at the channel base and video images of the channel video images were obtained for about half of the natural flashes the fine scale structure of the electric field changes radiated by these strokes has been compared during the first 10 s in cases where unambiguous identification of the channel could be made from the video recordings this fine scale structure is similar for return strokes in the same channel and differs significantly for return strokes in different channels this is true for both natural and triggered flashes on the other hand the current waveforms measured at the channel base available for the triggered flashes are similar in shape for all strokes regardless of the channel similar results were also obtained for the natural flashes without video images in which case strokes from the same flash exhibit a greater similarity than do strokes from different flashes and therefore different channels

chemostratigraphy of the jurassic system applications limitations and implications for palaeoceanography current chemostratigraphical studies of the jurassic system primarily involve the use of one sedimentary component marine organic carbon one divalent transition metal substituted in carbonate manganese and two isotopic tracers strontium isotope ratios 87 sr 86 sr and carbon isotope ratios 13 c carb and 13 c org in carbonate and in organic matter other parameters such as mg ca and sr ca ratios in calcite oxygen isotope ratios 18 o in carbonate sulphur isotope ratios 34 s in carbonate hosted sulphate nitrogen isotope ratios 15 n org in organic matter osmium isotope ratios 187 os 188 os in black shales and neodymium isotope ratios 143 nd 144 nd in various mineral phases are also useful but at present give poor resolution because the database is incomplete or compromised by various factors stratigraphical patterns in total organic carbon toc can be of either local or regional significance depending on the lateral extent of the former nutrient rich and productive water mass divalent manganese follows a similar pattern being concentrated most probably as a very early diagenetic phase only in oxygen depleted waters that typically underlie zones of elevated organic productivity shifts in mg ca and sr ca ratios on the time scale of ammonite subzones seem largely to reflect temperature changes strontium isotope ratios from pristine skeletal calcite provide a global signal 13 c values from carbonates with minimal diagenetic overprint potentially do the same although small spatial differences in palaeo water mass composition may have been locally significant oxygen isotope determinations on carbonate rocks and fossils generally yield values that are too scattered to be stratigraphically useful because they reflect palaeotemperature the evaporation precipitation balance in sea water and the impact of any diagenesis involving an aqueous phase nitrogen isotope ratios in organic matter reflect the chemistry of ancient water masses as affected by nitrate utilization and denitrification and the stratigraphical pattern of this parameter is more likely to correlate only on a regional basis neodymium isotope ratios in sea water are also water mass dependent and greatly affected by regional sources and oceanic current systems preliminary data on sulphur isotope ratios in carbonates and osmium isotope ratios in organic rich shales both potentially offering global correlation indicate that these tracers may be valuable although the records at present are not sufficiently well established to allow high resolution regional correlation in all cases biostratigraphically well dated reference sections against which the relevant geochemical data have been calibrated are required in the first instance to date studies on the stratigraphical distribution of organic carbon have been principally carried out in both northern boreal and southern tethyan europe carbon isotope stratigraphy has been undertaken primarily but not exclusively on bulk pelagic sediments from the alpine mediterranean or tethyan domain and strontium isotope stratigraphy has been undertaken largely on calcitic skeletal material belemnites and oysters from northern and southern europe in many sections including those containing ammonites multi parameter chemostratigraphy can give resolution that exceeds that attainable by classic biostratigraphical means strontium isotope ratios in skeletal calcite are a particularly powerful tool for illustrating changes in sedimentary rate and revealing gaps in the stratigraphical record

paleoceanographic changes of the late pliensbachian early toarcian interval a possible link to the genesis of an oceanic anoxic event abstract secular records of the elemental and isotopic composition of belemnite calcite were studied in pliensbachian and toarcian sections from the yorkshire coast uk and southern germany to investigate oceanographic change during an interval prior to and including the toarcian oceanic anoxic event oae records from southern germany are correlated to the uk stratigraphy using strontium isotope stratigraphy the geochemical trends measured from belemnite calcite are consistent between the two sections and are interpreted in terms of temperature and salinity of the northwest european epi continental sea the data suggest that a dramatic environmental change coincided with the toarcian oae belemnite mg ca sr ca and na ca ratios increase by a factor of between 1 7 and 2 coincident with a 3 negative shift in 18o from the mid tenuicostatum zone until the lower falciferum zone of the uk ammonite biostratigraphy a period of 0 6 0 7 myr taken at face value the mg ca and 18o data argue for an abrupt warming of 6 7 c and substantial freshening during this interval global warming accompanied by an accelerated hydrological cycle and increased runoff is proposed to explain these changes prior to these events data from lower in the yorkshire section suggest a possible cooling accompanied by a shift to more saline waters during the period from the upper pliensbachian margaritatus zone to the toarcian lower tenuicostatum zone this earlier event may also have been important in causing density stratification in the northwest european epi continental sea

the early toarcian early jurassic and the cenomanian turonian late cretaceous mass extinctions similarities and contrasts abstract the early toarcian eto and cenomanian turonian c t mass extinctions are comparable from a wide range of scales and perspectives from a broad standpoint their similarities include virtually identical extinction intensity at the familial and generic levels widespread basinal facies deposited during sea level highstands an overall greenhouse climate and anoxia as an important causal mechanism the high resolution macroinvertebrate data analyzed here consisting of stratigraphic ranges diversity and abundance point to smaller scale similarities the two events resulted in significant ecological disruption and in both cases the biotic responses were very similar taxa inhabiting the upper water column were unaffected by anoxia and included ammonites and in the eto belemnites in addition epifaunal taxa adapted to low oxygen conditions such as the buchiids posidoniids and inoceramids flourished in the post extinction environment during the survival interval as conditions ameliorated the biota became more diverse and gradually began to resemble pre extinction biotas furthermore the 13c curves predict the end of the survival interval and suggest that the period characterized by carbon isotope excursions represent disrupted environmental conditions this points to the potential application of 13c as a tool for determining the repopulation modes and timing for other mass extinctions

evidence of recycling of isotopically light co2 aq in stratified black shale basins contrasts between the whitby mudstone and kimmeridge clay formations united kingdom calculation of co 2 aq and p co 2 atm based on proxy temperature and salinity data 18 o and 13 c from belemnite rostra and 13 c toc toc total organic carbon from toarcian marine organic rich shales yields unreasonably large intraformational p co 2 atm variations we postulate that the low 13 c toc values in the shales can instead be explained by episodic release of isotopically light co 2 that had built up below a relatively deep pycnocline halocline the lowest 13 c toc values would thus be associated with mixing and erosion of the pycnocline following extended periods of stable stratification in contrast the studied tithonian oil shales were probably deposited during periods of only slight perturbation of a photic zone chemocline which probably led to only modest release of isotopically light co 2 in addition the higher productivity associated with the nutrient release would have resulted in depletion of the mixed layer co 2 leading to lower fractionation and higher 13 c toc values

the early toarcian anoxic event in the westernmost tethys subbetic paleogeographic and paleobiogeographic significance a positive delta 13 c excursion reveals an oceanic anoxic event in the subbetic corresponding to the westernmost end of the tethys during the early jurassic this positive delta 13 c excursion exists in five stratigraphic sections consisting of lower and middle toarcian pelagic sediments the positive delta 13 c excursion in the subbetic is located in the upper part of the early toarcian serpentinus approx falciferum biozone while in other tethyan regions alps apennines and dinarides it has been found in the lower part of the same biozone the most significant positive delta 13 c excursion detected in the subbetic is therefore about half a million years younger although other relative peaks had been detected this isotopic anomaly can be correlated with a maximum transgression that occurred earlier in the regions closer to the open sea of the tethys ocean other features of the anoxic event faunal crises and black shale deposits appear at different ages related t

chemostratigraphy of the posidonia black shale sw germany i influence of sea level variation on organic facies evolution abstract during the toarcian widespread deposition of organic rich mudrocks black shales occurred across europe linked to a 3rd order sea level rise we provide a high resolution multi proxy chemostratigraphic study of the dotternhausen sections in sw germany embedded in a stratigraphic and palecological framework chemostratigraphy and paleoenvironmental reconstruction is based on rock eval and elemental analysis of bulk organic matter and biomarker analysis of aliphatic hydrocarbon fractions aliphatic biomarker ratios applied to reconstruct the facies development include pristane phytane and pristane phytane n c 17 n c 18 ratios carbon preference index c 27 c 29 sterane and hopane sterane distribution results show that sea level change exerted the major control on the composition of primary produced organic matter and on its redox controlled preservation changes in primary production and in the ratio of terrestrially versus marine derived organic matter take place drastically at the onset of black shale deposition the relative proportion of terrestrial versus marine biomass accumulation is independently assessed by highly correlative bulk organic matter properties hi values and biomarker ratios cpi the terrestrially derived end member yields hi values of 50 100 mg hc toc and cpi values of 1 4 2 0 whereas the marine end member has hi values of 600 700 mg hc toc and cpi values of 0 95 1 05 correspondingly the shift in plant versus bacteria derived biomass is discriminated by hi values and hopane sterane ratios data were grouped according to their position in the lowstand lst lower and upper transgressive tst highstand systems tract hst and maximum flooding surface mfz of the sequence stratigraphic framework occurrence of organic matter with a significant bacterial contribution is restricted to the lst and lowermost tst and shows hopane sterane ratios of 0 25 0 5 marine phytoplanktonic matter dominates the upper tst hst and mfz with organic matter giving hopane sterane ratios between 0 5 and 1 7 samples from the hst yield hi values between 450 and 500 mg hc toc which is consistently lower by 150 mg hc toc when compared to the tst the lower quality of the organic matter deposited in the hst is due to its longer settling times through a thicker oxygenated water column a strong correlation with relative sea level stand and the c 27 c 29 sterane ratio is observed lst exhibits c 27 c 29 sterane ratios of 0 7 during transgression values increase to 1 0 reaching a maximum at 1 4 during sea level highstand thus reflecting decreasing terrigenous input and shifts in near shore versus open marine algal communities episodic fluctuation of anoxia is discussed on the basis of a monsoonal climate model which infers significant surface run off during summer monsoon providing high nutrient supply and associated high primary productivity in combination with a density stratified water column excellent preservation conditions for organic matter were established dry winter conditions with inversion of the surface water flow regime led to seasonal export of bottom waters and episodic establishment of dysoxic conditions variations in the extent of annual flushing of sub basins on the toarcian shelf controlled long term organic matter accumulation rate paleoclimate variability and its connection with sea level stand is thus of paramount importance for different modes of organic matter accumulation and redox system stability

the response of marine phytoplankton and sedimentary organic matter to the early toarcian lower jurassic oceanic anoxic event in northern england abstract early toarcian organic rich sediments reflecting the lower jurassic oceanic anoxic event were investigated in the brown moor borehole north yorkshire northern england integrated micropalaeontological calcareous nannofossils and dinoflagellate cysts and geochemical rock eval pyrolysis analyses reveal a sequence of changes mainly driven by palaeoecological shifts these changes mainly involve the composition source and preservation rate of sedimentary organic matter as well as algal population dynamics a sequence of successive disappearances of individual species during the early toarcian dactylioceras semicelatum and harpoceras exaratum ammonite subzones affect the composition of the phytoplankton assemblages which become gradually dominated by opportunistic taxa this range top sequence is followed by the temporary disappearance of both calcareous nannofossils and dinoflagellate cysts the disappearance event which are replaced by tasmanites an increase in type ii kerogen marks this interval these modifications were related to a gradual water stratification and to the development of a stable pycnocline these factors controlled the development of an oxygen minimum zone within the water column and the distribution of nutrients in the surface waters the disappearance event is coincident with the maximum extent of the oxygen minimum zone a repopulation event and an increase in type iii kerogen mark the end of the phytoplankton crisis in the upper part of the h exaratum ammonite subzone preadapted survivors e g biscutum dubium biscutum finchii and crepidolithus crassus mainly characterise the repopulated calcareous nannofossil assemblages whereas a significant turnover affected the dinoflagellate cyst community the re established phytoplankton populations are a response to the gradual restoration of mixed marine waters characterised by meso eutrophic conditions at the surface and by sustained nutrient regeneration the integrated calcareous nannofossil and dinoflagellate cyst biostratigraphy provided a reliable biochronological framework for the brown moor borehole succession allowing correlation with lower toarcian anoxic strata in central italy the integrated micropalaeontological approach indicates some diachroneity of lower jurassic ammonite zones in the boreal and tethyan realms

early jurassic mass extinction a global long term event the end pliensbachian extinction event 187 ma has been interpreted either as one of 10 global periodically recurring mass extinctions of the past 250 m y or as a minor localized european event elevated levels of family extinction spanned five ammonite zones during the late pliensbachian and the early toarcian an interval of 7 5 m y and were distributed unequally in the boreal tethyan and austral realms detailed sampling of invertebrate macrofaunas through complete expanded sequences in northwest europe shows that most species extinctions occurred in the early toarcian following a regional anoxic event the early jurassic mass extinction event took place over a long time scale and it was global in extent

contrasting watermass conditions during deposition of the whitby mudstone lower jurassic and kimmeridge clay upper jurassic formations uk abstract the whitby mudstone formation wmf and kimmeridge clay formation kcf are both jurassic organic rich black shale units containing well preserved marine organic matter despite such gross similarities they exhibit opposite trends in 13 c toc versus wt decarbonated total organic carbon toc r 0 76 for wmf and 0 71 for kcf the 13 c toc versus toc trend also varies geographically within both units only the kcf data exhibit a positive correlation between 13 c toc and 15 n org r 0 76 and the presence of aryl isoprenoids probable indicators of photic zone anoxia maturity differences are insufficient to explain such contrasts bulk and compound specific isotopic variations in the kcf are interpreted largely as a reflection of primary productivity during deposition rather than a dominantly diagenetic signal due to incorporation of sulphurised carbohydrate the contrasts between the formations and the geographic variation in coeval shelf sediments are explained by a model stressing the relative positions and stabilities of the chemocline pycnocline nutricline and euphotic zone and the effect these have on productivity co 2 recycling and bacterial floras

relative sea level change and carbon isotopes data from the upper jurassic oxfordian of central and southern europe studies on cretaceous pelagic limestones have shown a close correspondence between putative sea level curves and the carbon isotope profile suggesting a possible relationship between the two phenomena such a relationship could relate to shelf sea area governing the global burial rate of organic carbon which in turn controls the 13c 12c ratio of dissolved inorganic carbon in the oceanic reservoir in order to see whether or not this relationship might be of more general applicability the major mid oxfordian jurassic transgression is documented to zonal level and appropriate carbon isotope data are presented although the applicability of ammonite zonation to the mid oxfordian is problematic on a regional scale a clear 13c excursion is present in the trunsversariurn zone which is coincident with regional overstep and or evidence of shoreline retreat and or evidence of bathymetric deepening in europe and elsewhere the use of the carbon isotope curve as a proxy for shelf sea area or relative sea level is worthy of further exploration

diversity dynamics and mass extinctions of the early middle jurassic foraminifers a record from the northwestern caucasus abstract the early middle jurassic foraminiferal assemblages of the northwestern caucasus including a total of 315 species and 68 genera were analysed to establish the principal diversity patterns at substage level of resolution an overall conclusion is that the number of species varied significantly in contrast to the number of genera the most diversified were late sinemurian pliensbachian late toarcian early aalenian and late bajocian assemblages significant diversity drops have been documented in the early toarcian and in the middle aalenian the first of them corresponds to the well known mass extinction which regionally was initiated in the pliensbachian and terminated when rapid late toarcian diversification began the second event could be considered as a regional evidence of a new mass extinction that appeared in the middle aalenian and was most likely associated with the aalenian bajocian regional anoxic event also recorded in the carpathian part of the western tethys the most intense foraminiferal turnovers took place in the toarcian and in the middle aalenian early bajocian the lazarus effect in spite of its high value has not much influenced the estimation of principal diversity trends

early jurassic schizosphaerellid crisis in cantabria spain implications for calcification rates and phytoplankton evolution across the toarcian oceanic anoxic event 1 the toarcian oceanic anoxic event 183 myr ago represents a global perturbation marked by increasing organic carbon burial and a general decrease in calcium carbonate production likely triggered by elevated carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere here we present quantitative analyses of calcareous nannofossil diversity and abundance from the castillo de pedroso section in cantabria northern spain we compare these data with geochemical data c and o isotopes obtained from biogenic and bulk carbonate records in order to highlight the response of calcareous phytoplankton to major climatic and paleoceanographic changes the pliensbachian toarcian boundary is characterized by an abrupt decrease in abundance of schizosphaerella punctulata the most important lithogenic contributor to hemi pelagic carbonates in the early jurassic the early toarcian nannofloral assemblages show an increase in abundance of mitrolithus jansae and small sized r selected taxa and a progressive decrease in s punctulata percentages the deep dwellers m jansae and s punctulata experienced a major crisis slightly prior to the deposition of the toarcian black shales that are characterized by high abundances of eutrophic taxa such as lotharingius spp and biscutum spp the return of s punctulata associated with lower percentages of eutrophic taxa was observed just above the toarcian black shales the toarcian episode reveals that high co2 levels and increasing primary productivity probably triggered a shift in abundance from highly calcified nannoliths such as s punctulata and m jansae to small sized r selected coccoliths that overall record a biocalcification crisis at the onset and during the toarcian episode

methane driven oceanic eruptions and mass extinctions focusing on the permian triassic boundary ca 251 ma i explore the possibility that mass extinction can be caused by an extremely fast explosive release of dissolved methane and other dissolved gases such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide that accumulated in the oceanic water masses prone to stagnation and anoxia e g in silled basins the mechanism of the explosive release is the same as in the lake nyos disaster of 1986 i e a water column eruption caused by the interplay of buoyancy forces and exsolution of dissolved gas the eruption brings to the surface deep anoxic waters that cause extinctions in the marine realm terrestrial extinctions are caused by explosions and conflagrations that follow the massive release of methane the air methane mixture is explosive at methane concentrations between 5 and 15 and by the eruption triggered floods this scenario accounts well for the available data and may be relevant to other phenomena

non annual laminations and expansion of anoxic basin floor conditions in santa monica basin california borderland over the past four centuries sediments from box cores in the deep portion of santa monica basin have been examined by x radiography and the upper 10 20 cm are characterized by laminations 1 5 mm in thickness age dating of 9 cores by 210pb analysis has shown that accumulation rates on the central basin floor have been remarkably constant during the past century averaging 16 0 0 4 mg cm2 yr densitometer analysis of the x radiography films from 7 cores and spectral analysis of the resulting time series indicates that most lamination couplets have a periodicity in the 3 7 year range a range matching that of the el nino southern oscillation periodicity the median periodicity appears to have decreased slightly during the past 3 centuries from 7 0 years during 200 300 yrs b p to 5 2 yrs during 0 100 yrs b p this trend could be due to a decreasing sedimentation rate an increasing forcing frequency or an increasingly faithful response of the basin in more recent years multiple processes have contributed to creation of the laminations in santa monica basin the principal factors appear to be 1 variations in porosity due to the relative abundance of organic filaments probably formed by beggiatoa mats and 2 compositional variations that reflect variations in carbonate lithogenous ratios and in grain size both of these are expected to respond to enso events the presence of near anoxic bottom waters has prevented bioturbation permitting laminations to be preserved basin bottom waters became nearly anoxic about 350 years ago at the onset of warming as the little ice age waned expansion of the near anoxic area during the past century may have been augmented by 20th century anthropogenic effects the style of these non annual laminations in santa monica basin matches that of the annual laminations in the adjacent santa barbara basin and demonstrates the need for caution in interpreting all laminations as representing annual varves

osmium isotope evidence for the regulation of atmospheric co2 by continental weathering the long term stability of earth9s climate throughout the phanerozoic stands in marked contrast to the dramatic fluctuations that have taken place on time scales as short as a few years reflecting the high efficiency of longer term climate regulation through negative feedbacks a fundamental mechanism is thought to involve control of co 2 in the ocean atmosphere system through continental weathering although unambiguous high resolution data supporting this hypothesis have hitherto not been available organic rich mud rocks from yorkshire england which were deposited during the toarcian oceanic anoxic event ca 181 ma early jurassic contain evidence of an exceptionally large excursion in the 187 os 188 os ratio of contemporaneous seawater from 0 4 to 1 0 the most likely explanation for this excursion is that it resulted from a transient increase in global continental weathering rates of 400 800 the os isotope excursion coincided with a well documented global 13 c excursion of 6 that affected all the major biospheric reservoirs of the time higher mean global temperatures caused global chemical weathering rates to increase substantially while in turn chemical weathering was very effective in reducing the elevated levels of atmospheric co 2 and the high temperatures to preexcursion levels

massive dissociation of gas hydrate during a jurassic oceanic anoxic event in the jurassic period the early toarcian oceanic anoxic event about 183 million years ago is associated with exceptionally high rates of organic carbon burial high palaeotemperatures and significant mass extinction heavy carbon isotope compositions in rocks and fossils of this age have been linked to the global burial of organic carbon which is isotopically light in contrast examples of light carbon isotope values from marine organic matter of early toarcian age have been explained principally in terms of localized upwelling of bottom water enriched in 12c versus 13c refs 1 2 5 6 here however we report carbon isotope analyses of fossil wood which demonstrate that isotopically light carbon dominated all the upper oceanic biospheric and atmospheric carbon reservoirs and that this occurred despite the enhanced burial of organic carbon we propose that as has been suggested for the late palaeocene thermal maximum some 55 million years ago the observed patterns were produced by voluminous and extremely rapid release of methane from gas hydrate contained in marine continental margin sediments

the timing of paleoenvironmental change and cause and effect relationships during the early jurassic mass extinction in europe the early jurassic marine mass extinction is one of several crises thought to coincide with anoxia transgression and warming caused by catastrophic release of gas hydrates however high resolution study of expanded sections in yorkshire england reveal that only the first of these factors is truly coincidental with extinction the well known transgression and large negative carbon isotope perturbation attributed to massive release of methane from gas hydrates occur after these events the anoxic event is developed diachronously in the european area with anoxia developing and fading away earlier in the mediterranean region compared with the nw european record however for a brief interval in the mid semicelatum subzone anoxia was simultaneously developed throughout the european region and it is this time that is marked by extinction of both benthic and pelagic marine fossils the sea level curve is also more complex than hitherto assumed with a minor regression occurring late in the semicelatum subzone shortly after the extinction the toarcian crisis occurred during a phase of global warming but the postulated release of methane from gas hydrates is too late to be implicated in the extinction mechanism as indeed is a recently reported cooling event from within the warming trend

spatial and temporal distribution of calcareous nannofossils along a proximal distal transect in the lower jurassic of the umbria marche basin central italy abstract three upper pliensbachian lower toarcian successions of the umbria marche basin were analysed for sedimentology and calcareous nannofossil content across a 120 km long transect from proximal to distal areas with respect to the shallow latium abruzzi platform the uppermost part of the corniola unit uppermost pliensbachian and the marne di monte serrone formation p p lower toarcian polymorphum to levisoni ammonite zones that contains organic matter rich levels were studied in the three localities the analysis of the sedimentary structures in the studied successions indicates that the basin was a shallow water system above storm wave base during the late pliensbachian early toarcian the stratigraphic evolution of the sedimentary structures recorded in the studied localities shows that the upper pliensbachian corresponded to a regressive sedimentary interval whereas a complete transgressive regressive relative sea level cycle occurred during the lower toarcian polymorphum zone a further transgression occurred in the lowermost levisoni zone lower toarcian changes from carbonate dominated to marl dominated sediments form decimetre to metre scale lithological units that can be correlated from succession to succession and may have resulted from short term sea level and or palaeoenvironmental variations the mean duration of these lithological units suggests that they formed in tune with the first orbital eccentricity cycle 100 ka the analysis of calcareous nannofossil quantities abundance per mm2 of the smear slide percentage mean abundance shows both spatial and temporal changes in the community structure schizosphaerella spp and crepidolithus crassus were more abundant in proximity to the shallow latium abruzzi platform these two taxa were likely affiliated to oligotrophic conditions in marine surface waters explaining why they were generally more abundant in carbonate rich intervals than in marls mitrolithus jansae is interpreted as being a deep dwelling species which was more abundant during rising sea level in the earliest toarcian species of the genera lotharingius biscutum and calyculus were more abundant when higher trophic conditions occurred and were thus more common during periods of marl deposition the stratigraphic distribution of calcareous nannoplankton and its interpretation in terms of palaeoecological affinities allow three main phases in the environmental evolution during the early toarcian anoxic event to be recognised the first phase corresponds to a long term transgression and high nannoplankton abundance in distal areas mainly lotharingius biscutum and calyculus species suggests high productivity that may have resulted from upwelling the beginning of accumulation and preservation of organic matter in the sediments occurred during this phase the scarcity of nannoplankton during the second phase may indicate oligotrophic conditions in surface waters possibly due to water stratification during the highest sea level stand a high abundance of schizosphaerella spp and c crassus is recorded in proximal areas probably resulting from sporadic nutrient input from continental or shallow platform areas the maximum of organic matter preservation is recorded during this phase during the third phase relative sea level fall and efficient water mixing by frequent storm events led to enhanced nannoplankton productivity in proximal and distal areas and to a decrease in organic matter accumulation in the umbria marche basin

paleoceanographic significance of high resolution carbon isotope records across the cenomanian turonian boundary in the western interior and new jersey coastal plain usa carbon isotope measurements have been made on bulk carbonate and organic matter in three sections across the cenomanian turonian boundary the stratigraphy records the positive carbon isotopic excursion that is associated with the major oceanic anoxic event oae2 comparison of toc and isotopic data in sections from a range of different environments suggests that the positive excursion is a response to increased burial of organic matter in the deep ocean the lack of coupled negative shifts in 13corg and 13ccarb records at the onset of oae2 does not support a causal role for volcanism or methane hydrate dissociation

black shales and carbon isotopes in pelagic sediments from the tethyan lower jurassic detailed sampling and analysis of jurassic pelagic limestones and marls from italy hungary and switzerland have enabled construction of an isotope stratigraphy across the pliensbachian toarcian boundary with resolution to the zonal level the oxygen isotope record is unremarkable the carbon isotopes however show two positive excursions one relatively minor during the pliensbachian margaritatus zone subnodosus subzone the other more major during the toarcian early falciferum zone where a maximum 13c value of 4 52 pdb is attained these intervals are known to be favoured periods of organic rich sedimentation in diverse parts of the globe and the isotopic excursions are interpreted as a response to abnormally high rates of storage of organic carbon in the sedimentary record a comparable phenomenon has been documented from the cenomanian turonian boundary in the cretaceous where it has been referred to the influence of an oceanic anoxic event some italian sections spanning this lower jurassic interval contain organic rich shales in the falciferum zone the isotopic signatures from their included locally manganiferous carbonate betray a considerable diagenetic overprint and they cannot therefore be incorporated in a composite isotopic curve carbon isotopes from the organic carbon itself are extremely negative falling to 33 pdb and in one section examined in detail correlate with the calcium carbonate content of the shales they may reflect a partial change to a non calcified planktonic biota during deposition of this lime poor interval possibly responding to upwelling and increased fertility of near surface waters the onset of upwelling may have been as early as spinatum tenuicostatum zone time that is at the pliensbachian toarcian boundary

phytoplankton response and geochemical evidence of the lower toarcian relative sea level rise in the umbria marche basin central italy abstract quantitative and qualitative analyses have been carried out on the lower toarcian organic rich lithologies of the umbria marche domain marne di monte serrone formation with the aim to emphasize the potential of organic and geochemical parameters as palaeoenvironmental indices the organic matter and phytoplankton data suggest that the palaeoenvironmental evolution of this area was controlled by a third order cyclicity induced by climatic eustatic fluctuations during the early toarcian sea level rise two different phases have been recognized the phase of facies retrogradation referable to the transgressive system tract lying in the early and middle part of the d tenuicostatum zone this phase was characterized by a relative increase of basinal caco 3 a better fertility within the photic zone and a decrease of sea bottom oxygenation and of the micronutrients in surface waters the maximum flooding event at the top of the retrogradation phase corresponds with the maximum of palaeoenvironmental distality sedimentary starvation and total organic carbon toc values the phase of facies progradation corresponding to the high stand system tract occurred in the uppermost portion of the d tenuicostatum zone this phase induced a more efficient water circulation producing a re oxygenation at the sea bottom a better nutrient recycling and a reflourishing of nannoplakton the caco 3 in the basin was mainly extrabasinal because the carbonate platforms started producing and exporting the carbonate mud basinwards again this approach confirms that eustatic fluctuations strongly influenced the variations of phytoplankton total abundance and species diversity and the distribution of organic matter in the sediments it also regards a significant tool for the investigation of lithologies where the lack of significant sedimentary structures does not give detailed palaeoenvironmental information

paleotemperature variations of early jurassic seawater recorded in geochemical trends of belemnites from the basque cantabrian basin northern spain abstract here we present new o isotope mg ca and sr ca data of early jurassic belemnites from the basque cantabrian basin of northern spain a succession deposited in a periodically anoxic restricted hemipelagic basin nearly 200 pliensbachian lower toarcian belemnites were collected and examined using optical cathodoluminescence and chemical techniques to constrain the effects of potential diagenetic alteration after a precise diagenetic screening of samples 176 belemnites were selected to provide records of changes in seawater geochemistry and temperature the records show a fairly good correlation of 18o with mg ca ratios r 0 65 and a weak correlation of 18o with sr ca ratios r 0 34 the oxygen isotope data if interpreted in terms of paleotemperature have revealed a period of relatively uniform and warm seawater temperatures during the early pliensbachian followed by a sharp temperature drop during the late pliensbachian earliest toarcian the onset of this cooler period occurred within the protogrammoceras celebratum subzone and the coolest seawater temperatures were reached at the end pliensbachian pleuroceras spinatum zone this was followed by a rapid seawater warming during the harpoceras serpentinus zone of the early toarcian in addition the data set provides new information regarding paleoceanographic conditions for anoxic events in a critical region of connection between the boreal and tethys realms it is the background to relatively high 18o values that prevailed during the anoxic episodes concerning the impact of the early toarcian anoxic event in northern spain the detected 18o and mg ca excursions reached their minimum and maximum respectively during the lower h serpentinus zone while the anoxic black shale interval developed earlier during the upper dactylioceras tenuicostatum lowermost h serpentinus zones

strontium isotope profile of the early toarcian jurassic oceanic anoxic event the duration of ammonite biozones and belemnite palaeotemperatures we profile 87sr 86sr 13c 18o sr ca mg ca and na ca in belemnites through pliensbachian and toarcian strata on the yorkshire coast uk which include the early jurassic oceanic anoxic event the 87sr 86sr profile shows that the relative duration of ammonite subzones differ by a factor of up to 30 the lower jurassic exaratum subzone is 30 times longer than the clevelandicum subzone because the exaratum subzone in yorkshire which contains the anoxic event is condensed by a factor of between 6 5 and 12 2 times relative to adjacent strata using our 87sr 86sr profile the resolution in correlation and dating attainable in the interval is between 1 5 m and 15 m of section and better than 0 25 myr in parts of the sequence this stratigraphic resolution equals that attainable with ammonites a new age model is provided for late pliensbachian and early toarcian time that is based on the 87sr 86sr profile through the sequence the sr ca mg ca na ca and 18o of belemnite carbonate covary suggesting that elemental ratios may be useful for palaeotemperature measurement our 13cbelemnite data splits into three the previously reported positive isotope excursion to 6 5 in the early toarcian we speculate that the excursion s resulted from addition to surface waters of isotopically heavy co2 via ebullition of methanogenic co2 from the sediment during early burial of organic rich 10 toc sediments