Expansion of photic-zone euxinia during the Permian–Triassic biotic crisis and its causes: Microbial biomarker records

Abstract

The incursion of euxinic waters into the ocean-surface layer is hypothesized to have been an important killing agent during the end-Permian mass extinction. However, both the causes and extent of oceanic euxinia during this crisis remain poorly known, making assessment of its role in the mass extinction difficult. Here, we document the distribution of aryl isoprenoids (AIs), which are biomarkers of obligate anaerobic green sulfur bacteria (Chlorobiaceae) that are indicative of photic-zone euxinia, in 12 Permian-Triassic Boundary (PTB) sections with a wide distribution globally. Profiles of AI abundance for the 12 study sections show significant spatio-temporal variation. No AIs were identified in the shallowest sections, but AIs are present both prior to and following the mass extinction in intermediate-depth sections and following the mass extinction in deep-water sections. This pattern suggests a combination of upward and oceanward expansion of photic-zone euxinia during the PTB crisis, possibly fueled by elevated riverine nutrient fluxes as a consequence of climatic warming, terrestrial ecosystem destruction, and enhanced erosion. This hypothesis is supported by the close association of AIs with elevated abundances of moretanes and dibenzofuran (DBF), which are biomarkers for terrestrial erosion. Expansion of oceanic euxinia at intermediate water depths may have established a long-term reservoir that fed episodic incursions of H2S-bearing waters into shallow-marine environments, delaying the recovery of marine ecosystems during the Early Triassic. The biomarker records of the present study thus provide significant evidence of terrestrial-marine linkage during the PTB crisis.