Ni-Ir Anomaly, Microtektites, and the Biotic Crisis across the Devonian–Carboniferous Boundary, Southern China

Abstract

Integrative methods of chemostratigraphy and biostratigraphy were used in the study of microtektites and moderate nickel-iridium anomaly beds in the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary beds at Huangmao (Guangxi Autonomous Region) and Muhua (Guizhou Province) in southern China. Microtektites provide evidence for meteoritic impact event(s), whereas the minerals and the chemical composition of the Ni-Ir anomaly beds likely display a submarine hydrothermal origin. It is postulated that the intensification of the rifting-hydrothermal process, and the ensuing pollution, might have been responsible for the Devonian-Carboniferous biotic crisis. This process began in the late Famennian expansa zone, lasted to the Tournaisian duplicata zone, and produced the largest manganese ore deposits of China.