Large perturbations of the carbon cycle during recovery from the end-permian extinction.
High-resolution carbon isotope measurements of multiple stratigraphic sections in south China demonstrate that the pronounced carbon isotopic excursion at the Permian-Triassic boundary was not an isolated event but the first in a series of large fluctuations that continued throughout the Early Triassic before ending abruptly early in the Middle Triassic. The unusual behavior of the carbon cycle coincides with the delayed recovery from end-Permian extinction recorded by fossils, suggesting a direct relationship between Earth system function and biological rediversification in the aftermath of Earth's most devastating mass extinction.
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, 20 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. jpayne@fas.harvard.edu
Jonathan L
JL
Payne
Daniel J
DJ
Lehrmann
Jiayong
J
Wei
Michael J
MJ
Orchard
Daniel P
DP
Schrag
Andrew H
AH
Knoll
D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D002113:Calcification, Physiologic; D002244:Carbon / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D002247:Carbon Isotopes / Q000032:analysis; D002681:China; D017753:Ecosystem; D056890:Eukaryota; D005580:Fossils; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D007448:Invertebrates / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D008697:Methane / Q000032:analysis; D010100:Oxygen; D013995:Time
D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D002244:Carbon; D008697:Methane; D010100:Oxygen