Boreal extinction and recovery patterns in the Permian of Spitsbergen

斯匹次卑尔根二叠纪的北方灭绝和恢复模式

• 批准号: NE/I015817/1
• 负责人: Paul Wignall
• 金额: $ 6.63万
• 依托单位: University of Leeds
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2011 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FI015817%2F1
• 关键词: Boreal; extinction; recovery; patterns; Permian

Mass extinctions in the geological record have shaped the course of evolution and life on Earth, and without them, humans would not exist. Understanding what causes mass extinctions is therefore one of the most fascinating topics for scientific research. We are still a long way from solving these ancient murder mysteries. By studying the cause and consequence of major changes in deep time, we can gain a unique perspective on current-day climate change and the issues affecting life on Earth. Two of the biggest extinctions ever to affect the Earth occurred within 10 million-years of each other, in the Middle Permian and at the Permian-Triassic (PT) boundary. The latter event killed up to 95% of marine species and is the greatest crisis of life in the geological record. Both extinctions are well-known from Permian equatorial regions, where their probable causes include volcanism, sea-level change, and oceanic oxygen depletion. However, little is known of the record of environmental or faunal change in mid-high latitudes, and it is not clear whether the causes of low-latitude losses were operating elsewhere. This project will test this by examining superb Permian sequences from the Arctic island of Spitsbergen, where marine rocks are exposed in cliffs that contain a record of faunal and environmental change. During the study interval, Spitsbergen was located at 40-60 degrees north, far removed from equatorial settings, in the Boreal seas. Study in the region has been hampered by an inability to accurately date the rocks. Thus, the relative age of events in the Boreal realm is unclear. The rocks are known to contain abundant fossils but their response to the two extinction events is unknown. Volcanism is thought to have caused the Middle Permian extinction in South China, but it is not clear if its effects reached beyond that continent. Warming and lack of oxygen in the oceans are factors in the PT event, but the cool waters of the Boreal seas ought to have been less susceptible (because oxygen is more readily dissolved at lower temperatures). Little is known of the recovery of the Boreal ecosystem between the two extinctions: did life recovery fully before being devastated at the PT boundary, or was that crisis so severe because the ecosystem was already stressed by the earlier event? An improved understanding of faunal loss and recovery in the region will help us to evaluate the competing extinction mechanisms. The correlation of the Boreal record with other parts of the world is integral to the success of the project, and will be achieved using chemostratigraphy. Thus, we will produce a carbon isotope curve - which has recently been established for other regions but not yet for Spitsbergen. The project will therefore: a) develop a Permian age model, allowing Spitsbergen sections to be correlated globally; and b) examine the record of environmental and faunal change within that time framework. To achieve the second objective, we will employ a variety of techniques: field- and microscope examination of fossils to pinpoint the timing of extinction and recovery; sequence stratigraphy (changes in rock type that reflect changing sea-levels); and analysis of pyrite in the rocks (to assess changes in oceanic oxygen levels). All of these methods have been used successfully before, but have never been applied to studies of the Boreal realm. Ultimately this project aims to identify two mass extinction events in the Boreal realm, and to ascertain their timing and causes. This will test whether the drivers of equatorial extinctions during the Permian can truly be considered global. The results will be publicised to a scientific audience through the academic press, and to a wider audience via the project website, school outreach activities, and the mass media.

地质记录中的大规模灭绝已经塑造了地球上进化和生命的过程，没有它们，就不存在人类。因此，了解导致大规模灭绝的是什么是科学研究中最有趣的主题之一。解决这些古老的谋杀之谜还有很长的路要走。通过研究深层变化的重大变化的原因和后果，我们可以对当前的气候变化以及影响地球生命的问题获得独特的看法。有史以来影响地球的两个最大的灭绝发生在彼此之间的1000万年内，中间二叠纪和二叠纪三叠纪（PT）边界。后一种事件杀死了多达95％的海洋物种，是地质记录中最大的生命危机。这两种灭绝都在二叠纪赤道区域中众所周知，它们的可能原因包括火山，海平面变化和海洋氧耗尽。但是，对于中高纬度地区的环境变化或动植物变化的记录鲜为人知，尚不清楚低纬度损失的原因是否在其他地方运行。该项目将通过检查Spitsbergen北极岛的高级二叠纪序列来测试这一点，那里的海洋岩石暴露在包含动物和环境变化记录的悬崖上。在研究间隔内，Spitsbergen位于北部40-60度，距离北方海的赤道环境远处。该地区的研究受到了无法准确与岩石约会的影响。因此，北方领域中事件的相对年龄尚不清楚。众所周知，岩石含有丰富的化石，但它们对两个灭绝事件的反应尚不清楚。人们认为火山主义在中国南部引起了二叠纪的灭绝，但目前尚不清楚它的影响是否超过该大陆。海洋中的变暖和缺乏氧气是PT事件的因素，但是北方海的凉水应该较少易感性（因为在较低温度下更容易溶解氧气）。几乎不知道这两个灭绝之间的北方生态系统：在PT边界遭受破坏之前，生命是否完全恢复，还是由于早期事件已经强调了生态系统，这是如此严重吗？对该地区的动植物损失和恢复的深入了解将有助于我们评估竞争的灭绝机制。北方记录与世界其他地区的相关性是该项目成功的组成部分，并且将使用化学地层学实现。因此，我们将产生一个碳同位素曲线 - 该曲线最近已为其他地区建立，但尚未针对Spitsbergen建立。因此，该项目将：a）开发二叠纪年龄模型，从而使Spitsbergen部分在全球范围内保持关联； b）在此时间框架内检查环境和动物变化的记录。为了实现第二个目标，我们将采用各种技术：化石的田间和显微镜检查，以查明灭绝和恢复的时间；序列地层学（反映海平面变化的岩石类型的变化）；和岩石中黄铁矿的分析（以评估海洋氧水平的变化）。所有这些方法以前已经成功使用，但从未应用于北方领域的研究。最终，该项目旨在确定北方领域中的两个大规模灭绝事件，并确定其时间和原因。这将测试二叠纪期间赤道灭绝的驱动因素是否真的可以被视为全球。结果将通过学术媒体向科学观众公开，并通过项目网站，学校外展活动和大众媒体向更广泛的受众群体公开。

项目成果

An abrupt extinction in the Middle Permian (Capitanian) of the Boreal Realm (Spitsbergen) and its link to anoxia and acidification

• DOI: 10.1130/b31216.1
• 发表时间: 2015-09-01
• 期刊: GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA BULLETIN
• 影响因子: 4.9
• 作者: Bond, David P. G.;Wignall, Paul B.;Blomeier, Dierk P. G.
• 通讯作者: Blomeier, Dierk P. G.

Gradual onset of anoxia across the Permian-Triassic Boundary in Svalbard, Norway

• DOI: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2013.02.004
• 发表时间: 2013-03-15
• 期刊: PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
• 影响因子: 3
• 作者: Dustira, Anna M.;Wignall, Paul B.;Bond, David P. G.
• 通讯作者: Bond, David P. G.

Ultra-shallow-marine anoxia in an Early Triassic shallow-marine clastic ramp (Spitsbergen) and the suppression of benthic radiation

• DOI: 10.1017/s0016756815000588
• 发表时间: 2015-10
• 期刊: Geological Magazine
• 影响因子: 2.3
• 作者: P. Wignall;D. Bond;Yadong Sun;S. Grasby;B. Beauchamp;M. Joachimski;D. Blomeier

Mercury anomalies associated with three extinction events (Capitanian Crisis, Latest Permian Extinction and the Smithian/Spathian Extinction) in NW Pangea

• DOI: 10.1017/s0016756815000436
• 发表时间: 2016-03-01
• 期刊: GEOLOGICAL MAGAZINE
• 影响因子: 2.3
• 作者: Grasby, Stephen E.;Beauchamp, Benoit;Sanei, Hamed
• 通讯作者: Sanei, Hamed