The first record of the Early Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (
c
. 183 Ma) from the Southern Hemisphere is described from the Neuquén Basin, Argentina, identified chemostratigraphically on the basis of a relative increase in marine organic carbon and a characteristic negative carbon-isotope excursion (δ
13
C
org
) in bulk rock and fossil wood. The negative excursion of −6‰ in bulk organic carbon (falling to −31.3‰) crosses the boundary of the
tenuicostatum
–
hoelderi
Andean ammonite Zones, equivalent to the
tenuicostatum
–
falciferum
/
serpentinum
zones of Europe. These data indicate that the Early Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event was a global phenomenon.
Supplementary material:
A detailed stratigraphic log, chemostratigraphic data and nannofossil data are available at
http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18411
.
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