Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• 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.

Titel

Ocean acidification and the Permo-Triassic mass extinction

Ist Teil von

• Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science), 2015-04, Vol.348 (6231), p.229-232

Ort / Verlag

United States: American Association for the Advancement of Science

Erscheinungsjahr

2015

Quelle

American Association for the Advancement of Science

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• 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.