The timing and duration of large-scale carbon release in the Early Jurassic

Abstract

The Toarcian oceanic anoxic event (T-OAE, ca. 183 Ma) in the Early Jurassic was one of the most significant warming events of the Phanerozoic, associated with large-scale carbon emissions, mass extinction, and perturbations to hydrology and ocean chemistry. However, the age and duration of this hyperthermal have long been uncertain, hindering our understanding of the timing and pace of carbon release and the associated environmental and biotic changes. We present high-precision radioisotopic dates bracketing a biostratigraphically constrained record of the T-OAE in Japan. Our geochronology reveals an unexpectedly short T-OAE duration of ∼300 k.y. and a temporal coincidence with Ferrar large igneous province (LIP) magmatism. Our dates refute previous work linking the T-OAE to the earlier Karoo LIP, which was coincident with an earlier carbon cycle perturbation at the Pliensbachian−Toarcian boundary. Our results suggest both events were driven by extremely rapid (perhaps sub-millennial scale) thermogenic carbon degassing during LIP sill intrusion.