Mercury evidence from the Sino-Korean block for Emeishan volcanism during the Capitanian mass extinction

Kwon, Hyun-Jin; Kim, Mun Gi; Lee, Yong Il

doi:10.1017/s0016756818000481

Cited by 13 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…25 demonstrated a volcanic trigger for the Frasnian–Famennian biotic crisis and suggested this was the Centre Hills volcanics in Central European successions. Mercury enrichments have also been described for the middle and latest Permian extinctions 18,21,26,27 . Sanei et al’s 18 study of the latest Permian mercury enrichment in the Canadian High Arctic, attributed this to emissions from the Siberian Traps with deleterious environmental consequences.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…As has been shown recently, continental arc volcanism has a significant impact on climate change on a global scale 15 , and many studies have demonstrated that mercury anomalies are linked with large igneous provinces (LIPs) and mass extinctions 16–27 , although not all LIP eruptions perturbed the Hg cycle 28 . Using Hg enrichment data, Racki et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…In another Hg-extinction link, Kwon et al . 27 attributed elevated Hg/TOC levels from the middle-upper Permian Gohan Formation of South Korea to Emeishan LIP volcanism in South China. Elevated mercury concentrations are also known for younger mass extinction events such as the end-Triassic 22,24 the end-Cretaceous mass extinctions 16,17,19,20,23 , as well as for the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum 29 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mercury Spikes Indicate a Volcanic Trigger for the Late Ordovician Mass Extinction Event: An Example from a Deep Shelf of the Peri-Baltic Region

Smolarek-Lach

Marynowski

Trela

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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The Late Ordovician mass extinction (LOME) was the second largest Phanerozoic crisis, but its cause remains elusive. Several triggering mechanisms have been proposed over the years, including bioevolutionary events, oceanographic changes, and geotectonic processes. Here, we report the presence of Hg spikes in the Zbrza PIG-1 borehole from the Upper Ordovician deep shelf sections of the peri-Baltic region. A strong positive anomaly in the lower late Katian (Hg/TOC = 2537.3 ppb/wt%) was noted. No correlation between Hg and TOC (R 2 = 0.07) was distinguished in the Hirnantian, although several positive anomalies were found. Because the Hg/Mo ratio showed trends very similar to those of Hg/TOC, it seems likely that TOC values reflect the redox conditions. In order to evaluate the role of anoxia in levels of Hg enrichment several redox indicators were measured. These showed that the elevated mercury values in the Hirnantian are not caused by anoxia/euxinia because euxinic biomarkers (maleimides and aryl isoprenoids) are present in very low abundance and pyrite framboids are absent. In total, positive Hg/TOC anomalies occur in the lower late Katian, at the Katian - Hirnantian boundary, and in the late Hirnantian. The lack of a strong Hg/TOC correlation, Ni enrichments, and the absence of ‘anoxic indicators’ (no biomarkers, no framboids, low Mo concentration) at these levels, supports the interpretation that Hg enrichment is due to enhanced environmental loading. We conclude that our Hg and Hg/TOC values were associated with volcanic pulses which triggered the massive environmental changes resulting in the Late Ordovician mass extinction.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mercury Spikes Indicate a Volcanic Trigger for the Late Ordovician Mass Extinction Event: An Example from a Deep Shelf of the Peri-Baltic Region

Smolarek-Lach

Marynowski

Trela

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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“…The end-Ordovician extinction (444 Ma), end-Permian extinction (252 Ma), end-Triassic extinction (201 Ma), Toarcian OAE (183 Ma), and end-Cretaceous extinction (66 Ma), all feature Hg enrichments that can be correlated on the basis of biostratigraphic or carbon-isotope information across numerous sedimentary sequences spanning multiple regions/continents and both hemispheres (Sanei et al, 2012;Grasby et al, 2013bGrasby et al, , 2016Grasby et al, , 2017Sial et al, 2013Sial et al, , 2014Sial et al, , 2016Sial et al, , 2020Percival et al, 2015Percival et al, , 2017Percival et al, , 2018Font et al, 2016;Thibodeau et al, 2016;Gong et al, 2017;Jones et al, 2017;Fantasia et al, 2018Fantasia et al, , 2019Keller et al, 2018;Wang et al, 2018;Burger et al, 2019;Fendley et al, 2019;Lindström et al, 2019;Meyer et al, 2019;Shen et al, 2019bShen et al, , 2019cSmolarek-Lach et al, 2019;Them et al, 2019). There are also widespread stratigraphic records of the Frasnian-Famennian (372 Ma), Devonian-Carboniferous (359 Ma), and Capitanian (end-Guadalupian, 260 Ma) extinctions, the Valanginian "Weissert" Event (135 Ma), and Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, 54 Ma) that feature Hg enrichments (Grasby et al, 2016;Charbonnier et al, 2017, in press;Keller et al, 2018;Kwon et al, 2018;Racki et al, 2018aRacki et al, , 2018bJones et al, 2019;…”

Section: Do Stratigraphic Records Of All Major Events Document Hg-cycmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sedimentary Mercury Enrichments as a Tracer of Large Igneous Province Volcanism

Percival

Bergquist

Mather

et al. 2021

Geophysical Monograph Series

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Volcanic activity associated with the emplacement of Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) has been linked to most Phanerozoic extinctions/episodes of major environmental change. In recent years, mercury (Hg) enrichments and elevated mercury/total organic carbon (Hg/TOC) ratios have been increasingly utilized as a marker of volcanism in sedimentary records deposited distally from LIPs. The proxy is based on the premise that volcanism is a major natural source of the element to the atmosphere, and was especially important prior to anthropogenic emissions. To date, end-Permian and end-Triassic records illustrate the strongest use of Hg as a volcanic proxy; aided by supporting evidence (including Hg isotopes) for LIP eruptions and/or volatile emissions. Sedimentary records of several other events also document Hg enrichments in at least one region, suggesting regional or global Hg-cycle perturbations potentially linked to volcanism at those times. The Cenomanian-Turonian Oceanic Anoxic Event appears to be an exception, with Hg/TOC peaks documented in a small minority of studied records, suggesting minimal Hg-cycle disturbance at that time. Even for events that apparently featured a global-scale Hg-cycle perturbation, variable Hg enrichments across individual archives of that same crisis indicate that the complex biogeochemical cycling of the element can strongly influence local/regional aquatic, biological, or sedimentary processes to alter the precise signature of any worldwide disturbance. Recent studies are beginning to investigate these complexities, but further work is needed to fully explore the nuances of Hg in the geological record, and how it can be best employed as a proxy for LIP volcanism.

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“…Mercury enrichments across some chronological boundaries, expressed as an increase in the Hg to total organic carbon ratio (Hg/TOC), may represent true volcanogenic Hg loading to the environment (e.g., Sanei et al, 2012;Grasby et al, 2013;Percival et al, 2015;references therein). Therefore, the search for Hg/TOC spikes across major chronostratigraphic boundaries has been expanded to the whole Phanerozoic Eon (e.g., Grasby et al, 2013;Grasby et al, 2015b;Grasby et al, 2017;Grasby et al, 2019;Grasby et al, 2020;Bond and Grasby, 2017;Gong et al, 2017;Jones et al, 2017;Percival et al, 2015Percival et al, , 2017Percival et al, , 2018Burger et al, 2019;Korte et al, 2019;Shen et al, 2019aShen et al, ,b,c, 2020Sial et al, 2016;Sial et al, 2019;Sial et al, 2020a;Sial et al, 2020b;Faggetter et al, 2019;Kwon et al, 2019). Despite the growing application of Hg chemostratigraphy as a proxy for LIP activity in sedimentary successions, only a few studies have used Hg isotopes as an additional tool to demonstrate the volcanogenic origin of Hg enrichments (e.g., Sial et al, 2014;Sial et al, 2016;Sial et al, 2019;Sial et al, 2020a;Sial et al, 2020b;Thibodeau et al, 2016;Thibodeau and Bergquist, 2017;Grasby et al, 2017;Grasby et al, 2019;Gong et al, 2017;Wang et al, 2018;…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hg Isotopes and Enhanced Hg Concentration in the Meishan and Guryul Ravine Successions: Proxies for Volcanism Across the Permian-Triassic Boundary

Sial¹,

Chen

Korte

et al. 2021

Front. Earth Sci.

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High-resolution organic carbon isotope (δ13C), Hg concentration and Hg isotopes curves are presented for the Permian-Triassic boundary (PTB) sections at Guryul Ravine (India) and Meishan D (China). The total organic carbon (TOC)-normalized Hg concentrations reveal more intense environmental changes at the Latest Permian Mass Extinction (LPME) and the earliest Triassic Mass Extinction (ETME) horizons coinciding with major δ13C shifts. To highlight palaeoredox conditions we used redox-sensitive elements and Rare Earth Element distribution. At Meishan, three Hg/TOC spikes (I, II, and III) are observed. Spike I remains after normalization by total aluminum (Al), but disappears when normalized by total sulfur (TS). Spike III, at the base of Bed 26, corresponds with excursions in the Hg/TS and Hg/Al curves, indicating a change in paleoredox conditions from anoxic/euxinic in the framboidal pyrite-bearing sediments (Bed 26) to oxygenated sediments (Bed 27). At Guryul Ravine, four Hg/TOC spikes were observed: a clear spike I in Bed 46, spike II at the base of the framboidal pyrite-rich Bed 49, spike III at the PTB, and spike IV at the LPME horizon. Some of these Hg/TOC spikes disappear when TS or Al normalization is applied. The spike I remains in the Hg/TS and Hg/Al curves (oxic conditions), spike II only in the Hg/TS curve (anoxic/euxinic), and spikes III and IV only in Hg/Al curves (oxic). In both sections, Hg deposition was organic-matter bound, the role of sulfides being minor and locally restricted to framboidal pyrite-bearing horizons. Positive mass-independent fractionation (MIF) for Hg odd isotopes (odd-MIF) was observed in pre-LPME samples, negative values in the LPME–PTB interval, and positive values above the ETME horizon. Most Hg-isotope patterns are probably controlled by the bathymetry of atmospheric Hg-bearing deposits. The source of Hg can be attributed to the Siberian Traps Large Igneous Province (STLIP). In the LPME-PTB interval, a complex of STLIP sills (Stage 2) intruded coal-bearing sediments. The negative δ202Hg, the mercury odd-MIF Δ201Hg patterns, and the Δ199Hg–Hg plot in both sections are compatible with volcanic mercury deposition. Our study shows the strength of Hg/TOC ratios as paleoenvironmental proxy and as a tool for stratigraphic correlation.

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Mercury evidence from the Sino-Korean block for Emeishan volcanism during the Capitanian mass extinction

Cited by 13 publications

References 56 publications

Mercury Spikes Indicate a Volcanic Trigger for the Late Ordovician Mass Extinction Event: An Example from a Deep Shelf of the Peri-Baltic Region

Mercury Spikes Indicate a Volcanic Trigger for the Late Ordovician Mass Extinction Event: An Example from a Deep Shelf of the Peri-Baltic Region

Sedimentary Mercury Enrichments as a Tracer of Large Igneous Province Volcanism

Hg Isotopes and Enhanced Hg Concentration in the Meishan and Guryul Ravine Successions: Proxies for Volcanism Across the Permian-Triassic Boundary

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