Linking the Jehol Biota evolution to the Early Cretaceous volcanism during the North China craton destruction: insights from F, Cl, S, and P

Abstract

Volcanism provides an important mechanism for transferring heat and matter (including volatiles and nutrient elements) from the Earth's interior to its surface reservoirs (Mather, 2015). Studies on the linkage between large igneous provinces (LIPs) and mass extinction events have shown that the volatiles, such as F, Cl, and S, released by giant magmatic events can have strong global-scale effects on the biotic, environmental, and climatic evolution (Callegaro et al., 2014;Oppenheimer et al., 2014;Sobolev et al., 2011). However, what are the effects of less extensive continental magmatism on the evolutionary history of regional biota remain largely unconstrained. Climate-modifying volcanic gases (CO 2 , SO 2 , and halogens) may cause biota poisoning, environmental acidification, ozone depletion, and climatic warming or cooling (Ernst & Youbi, 2017). In contrast, nutrients (e.g., P, Fe)