Back to Search
Start Over
Large perturbations of the carbon and sulfur cycle associated with the Late Ordovician mass extinction in South China
- Source :
- Geology. 37:299-302
- Publication Year :
- 2009
- Publisher :
- Geological Society of America, 2009.
-
Abstract
- High-resolution δ 13 C data of organic carbon from a continuous section of the Late Ordovician–Early Silurian reveal two positive δ 13 C excursions that are associated with the mass extinction in South China. The fi rst stratigraphic δ 34 S measurements on pyrite tied to well-established biostratigraphy indicate a large perturbation of the sulfur cycle, consistent with major sea-level changes related to the glaciation. The elevated δ 34 S values of pyrites and a large, short-lived negative δ 34 S excursion of ~20‰ associated with the decay of the glaciation suggest deep-water anoxia during the Hirnantian Stage, in contrast to the conventional view that the global oceans were oxygenated. We suggest that deep-water anoxia may have contributed to the Late Ordovician mass extinction in South China and possibly elsewhere.
Details
- ISSN :
- 19432682 and 00917613
- Volume :
- 37
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Geology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........891e6b84717d17c29537f420c48ba006