Publication Date:
2015-04-11
Description:
Ocean acidification triggered by Siberian Trap volcanism was a possible kill mechanism for the Permo-Triassic Boundary mass extinction, but direct evidence for an acidification event is lacking. We present a high-resolution seawater pH record across this interval, using boron isotope data combined with a quantitative modeling approach. In the latest Permian, increased ocean alkalinity primed the Earth system with a low level of atmospheric CO2 and a high ocean buffering capacity. The first phase of extinction was coincident with a slow injection of carbon into the atmosphere, and ocean pH remained stable. During the second extinction pulse, however, a rapid and large injection of carbon caused an abrupt acidification event that drove the preferential loss of heavily calcified marine biota.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Clarkson, M O -- Kasemann, S A -- Wood, R A -- Lenton, T M -- Daines, S J -- Richoz, S -- Ohnemueller, F -- Meixner, A -- Poulton, S W -- Tipper, E T -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Apr 10;348(6231):229-32. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa0193.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FE, UK. matthew.clarkson@otago.ac.nz. ; Faculty of Geosciences and MARUM-Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, 28334 Bremen, Germany. ; School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FE, UK. ; College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Laver Building, North Parks Road, Exeter EX4 4QE, UK. ; Institute of Earth Sciences, NAWI Graz, University of Graz, Heinrichstrasse 26, 8010 Graz, Austria. ; School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK. ; Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EQ, UK.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25859043" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉
Keywords:
Animals
;
*Aquatic Organisms
;
Atmosphere
;
Boron
;
*Carbon
;
Carbon Cycle
;
Carbon Isotopes
;
Ecosystem
;
*Extinction, Biological
;
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
;
Isotopes
;
Oceans and Seas
;
Seawater/*chemistry
;
Time
Print ISSN:
0036-8075
Electronic ISSN:
1095-9203
Topics:
Biology
,
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Computer Science
,
Medicine
,
Natural Sciences in General
,
Physics
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