Anoxic Event Research Articles

Mercury isotope evidence for recurrent photic-zone euxinia triggered by enhanced terrestrial nutrient inputs during the Late Devonian mass extinction

Widespread oceanic anoxia marked by globally extensive deposition of organic-rich black shale during the Late Devonian was a major factor in the mass extinctions at the Frasnian-Famennian (FFB, ∼372 million years ago) and Devonian-Carboniferous boundaries (DCB, ∼359 million years ago), although the triggers for these deoxygenation events are still under debate. Here, we apply a novel paleoredox proxy, Hg isotopes, to investigate Late Devonian ocean redox variation and its causes. We found no Hg enrichments in North America across either the FFB or DCB, thus arguing against the hypothesis of global-scale volcanism as the trigger for Late Devonian environmental and biotic crises. Gradual negative shifts of both mass-independent fractionation (Δ199Hg) and mass-dependent fractionation (δ202Hg) occurred between the FFB and DCB, suggesting a progressive increase of Hg inputs associated with terrestrial organic matter. Moreover, multiple abrupt negative excursions of Δ199Hg (down to −0.19‰) along with concurrent positive shifts of δ202Hg occurred just above the FFB and across the DCB, providing strong evidence for recurrent photic-zone euxinia (PZE) that was preceded by increasing terrestrial inputs in the epicontinental seas of North America. We suggest that the increase of terrestrial inputs of nutrients, probably via expansion of vascular land plants, stimulated marine primary productivity and eventually PZE, which may have been a key kill mechanism for the Late Devonian mass extinction.

Collapse of terrestrial ecosystems linked to heavy metal poisoning during the Toarcian oceanic anoxic event

Abstract The Early Jurassic Toarcian oceanic anoxic event (T-OAE, ca. 183 Ma) was accompanied by a major biotic turnover in the oceans and substantial vegetation change on land. The marine biotic crisis has been attributed to several triggers, e.g., anoxia, warming, ocean acidification, yet the processes underlying the collapse of the terrestrial ecosystem are poorly understood. New high-resolution geochemical and palynological data across the T-OAE from a lacustrine succession in North China reveal elevated occurrences of spore dwarfism, asymmetrical Classopollis tetrads, and aberrant spores coeval with increases in heavy metal (Hg, Cu, Cr, Cd, Pb, As) abundances. The occurrence of teratological spores and pollen in multiple plant groups suggests overall vegetation-scale ecological pressure. Our data indicate that the combination of a widespread floral crisis with higher terrestrial organic matter oxidation and decomposition, enhanced hydrological cycle, and coeval large-scale volcanism resulted in higher concentrations of toxic heavy metals in terrestrial ecosystems. These heavy metals could poison plants, causing mutations and disrupting their reproductive cycle, and making them more vulnerable to secondary stresses such as climatic extremes and/or habitat shifts, eventually leading to widespread collapse across all terrestrial trophic levels.

Astronomical timescale for the early Toarcian (Early Jurassic) Posidonia Shale and global environmental changes

Lower Toarcian sediments (Early Jurassic, c. 183 Ma) record the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE), which represents a period of profound environmental changes. The event involved the widespread deposition of organic carbon-rich strata in oxygen-depleted paleo-shelf settings, global warming, and is characterized by a negative Toarcian carbon-isotope excursion (T-CIE). The T-CIE provides a global time-correlative chemostratigraphic marker; however, its age, duration and underlying causes remain uncertain in the absence of an accurate early Toarcian timescale. This article presents a cyclostratigraphic framework for the lower Toarcian Posidonia Shale Formation from the Dotternhausen Quarry (South German Basin), one of the best-studied sediment archives that record early Toarcian environmental and ecosystem changes. The Posidonia Shale in the study site was deposited in the deeper part of the epicontinental shelf sea, where sediment accumulation rates were relatively uniform and major hiatuses unlikely. These factors are rarely found in most sections, and favor obtaining accurate cyclostratigraphic results at the study site. Our astronomical timescale indicates that black shale deposition at the site lasted about ∼3.2 Myr, a remarkably long period for sufficient primary productivity in stagnant bottom-water conditions. The estimated durations of the tenuicostatum and falciferum ammonite zones, and the T-CIE are ∼0.9, ∼1.8 and ∼ 1.2 Myr, respectively. Early Toarcian global warming, accompanying the T-CIE, occurred over a period of ∼400 kyr. Early Toarcian 3rd-order sea-level cycles correlate to 1.2 to 1.6 Myr orbital cycles, reflecting long-term obliquity and eccentricity periods. Orbitally-forced 3rd-order sea-level cycles, in combination with 405 kyr long-eccentricity, and potentially 100 kyr short-eccentricity cycles, controlled sea-floor oxygenation and deposition of black shales. Short-term environmental changes (e.g., redox cycles), responding to long- and short-eccentricity cycles were most pronounced during 3rd-order sea-level lowstands, when the depositional environment was most susceptible to short-term environmental instabilities. Our results highlight orbital-forcing as a key driving mechanism for early Toarcian environmental conditions.

Chapter 3. Sequence stratigraphy scheme for the Lower Jurassic of the North Sea area

Abstract This chapter describes Lower Jurassic second-order sequences J00 and J10, and their component third-order sequences J1–J6 and J12–J18. Two sequences (J1 and J3) are new, four sequences (J2, J4, J12 and J16) are amended and one sequence (J17) is renamed. A significant unconformity at the base of the J12 sequence (Upper Sinemurian) is present near the base of the Dunlin Group in the North Viking Graben–East Shetland Platform and in the Danish Central Graben, and correlates with an equivalent unconformity around the margins of the London Platform, onshore UK. A marked unconformity at the base of the J16 sequence is recognized in the North Viking Graben and onshore UK, where it is related to structural movements on the Market Weighton High, eastern England. Several levels of carbon enrichment (carbon isotope excursions (CIEs)) and associated geochemical changes tie to J sequences defining maximum flooding surfaces: the Upper Sinemurian CIE equates to the base J6 maximum flooding surface (MFS), the basal Pliensbachian CIE ties to the base J13 MFS, the basal Toarcian CIE relates to the base J17 MFS and the Toarcian Ocean Anoxic Event corresponds with the base J18 MFS.

Phosphorus controls on the formation of vivianite versus green rust under anoxic conditions

The formation of green rust (GR; a mixed ferric/ferrous hydroxide) and vivianite (ferrous phosphate) are likely to have exerted a major control on phosphorus (P) cycling in ancient anoxic oceans. However, the factors that influence the formation of these minerals under different chemical conditions are poorly constrained, which limits understanding of the pathways that ultimately result in P drawdown and retention in anoxic sediments. This, in turn, limits understanding of P cycling in anoxic oceans and hence potential productivity feedbacks. Here we explore the effect of dissolved P concentration on the formation of sulfate GR (FeIII2FeII3(OH)12SO4) versus vivianite (FeII3(PO4)2·8H2O) under anoxic conditions. Our results show that at low dissolved P concentrations and with P:Fe(II) molar ratios <1:30, P drawdown is effectively controlled by interlayer anion exchange and adsorption onto GR species, via the formation of amorphous Fe-P precursors. Such precursors may delay the precipitation of crystalline GR, but vivianite was not detected under these conditions. At higher dissolved P concentrations and P:Fe(II) ratios, GR also forms. However, the GR formed under these conditions rapidly dissolves, likely forming amorphous ferric hydroxides together with dissolved Fe(II) and phosphate, with the dissolved species subsequently reacting to form crystalline vivianite. Our observations agree with studies showing the water column formation of GR in modern oligotrophic, anoxic Fe-rich (ferruginous) settings, and provide support for a major role for GR in controlling P cycling in ancient oligotrophic ferruginous oceans. By contrast, in more productive ancient anoxic settings, enhanced redox-controlled P recycling and/or increased weathering inputs would have led to higher dissolved P concentrations in the water column and sediments. Our observations show that such conditions ultimately promote the formation of vivianite, which would have exerted a limiting control on the extent of P recycling in ancient, more productive settings, via the long-term fixation of P in the sediments.

Phytoplankton dynamics and nitrogen cycling during Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 (Cenomanian/Turonian) in the upwelling zone of the NE proto-North Atlantic

Phytoplankton dynamics and nitrogen cycling during Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 (Cenomanian/Turonian) in the upwelling zone of the NE proto-North Atlantic

A mercury and trace element geochemical record across Oceanic Anoxic Event 1b in Arctic Canada

A mercury and trace element geochemical record across Oceanic Anoxic Event 1b in Arctic Canada

Cyclostratigraphic correlation of Middle–Late Ordovician sedimentary successions between the South China Block and Tarim Basin with paleoclimatic and geochronological implications

The Middle−Late Ordovician transition was one of the most critical periods throughout the Earth's history, and it involved paleoclimate changes and biological turnover. Here, we conducted cyclostratigraphic analysis on the magnetic susceptibility (MS) from the Kuniutan and Miaopo formations in the Zhenjin section and the Pagoda and Linhsiang formations in the Puxihe section in Yichang, South China. We constructed an astronomical time scale to understand the astronomically forced paleoclimate changes during this key interval. Spectral analyses on the MS series show that the thickness ratios of different sedimentary cycles in the studied sections are consistent with those of Milankovitch cycles during the Middle and Late Ordovician. The floating astronomical time scale of the studied sections was constructed based on astronomical tuning to 405-kyr eccentricity cycles, providing an estimated duration of ∼0.82 Myr for the Guttenberg isotopic carbon excursion (GICE). A high-precision and continuous astronomical time scale has previously been established in the Ordovician marine sediments in the Tarim Basin. The cyclostratigraphic correlation of sedimentary successions between the South China Block and Tarim Basin reveals that the duration of the Middle Ordovician gap in South China is ∼1.38 Myr. Alignment of the maxima of the ∼1.2-Myr obliquity cycle and the 405-kyr eccentricity cycle may have resulted in increased weathering inputs and prolonged periods of ocean anoxia, pacing the enhanced organic carbon burials and the positive isotopic carbon excursion during the middle Darriwilian isotope carbon excursion (MDICE) and GICE.

Early–Middle Jurassic brachiopods from Ponor Mountain, Western Balkan Mountains, Bulgaria; taxonomy, biostratigraphy and occurrence in the context of the early Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event

ABSTRACT An upper Pliensbachian–Aalenian brachiopod succession is reported from Ponor Mountain, Western Balkan Mountains, Bulgaria. This includes nine species (6 rhynchonellides and 3 terebratulides) from eight genera. A new genus Bulgariarhynchia and two new species, Bulgariarhynchia ponorensis and Capillirhynchia brezenensis, are formally described. A single species Homoeorhynchia ? aff. prona was found in the upper Pliensbachian. Most of the brachiopods derived from the Toarcian–Aalenian interval, and comprise: Pseudogibbirhynchia jurensis, Rhynchonelloidea angulata, Globirhynchia subobsoleta, Sphaeroidothyris uretae, Lobothyris? hispanica, and Telothyris jauberti. The brachiopod assemblages were dated using coeval ammonite biostratigraphy. Both ammonites and brachiopods display clear northwest European affinities. The new brachiopod taxa are considered autochthonous for the Balkan Mountains. Three biofacies (BF2, BF3 and BF5) were recognised and implied alternating suboxic to anoxic bottom water conditions. A few geochemical proxies are indicative of the early Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE) in the stratigraphic column. The main T-OAE pulse was fixed at the coeval positive δ13C and negative δ18O excursions, as well as increases in Hg/TOC ratios and redox-sensitive elements. The late Pliensbachian–earliest Toarcian time span was found to be the most hostile for the brachiopods. Above it, brachiopods lived in less stagnant environments.urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:22EF76B7-6A4B-4E54-A5BC-38C87125253E

The role of mass extinction events in shaping the body-size dynamics of fossil crinoids

Crinoids were abundant and highly diversified marine invertebrates with a long and rich fossil record extending back to the Ordovician. Although significant progress has been made in recent years to understand their body size evolution, a complete characterization of their body-size dynamics at macroevolutionary scale and over extended time periods using up-to-date source of data remains largely unexplored. Here, we compiled a new database on crinoid calyx biovolumes throughout the Paleozoic and Mesozoic to explore their size dynamics. Despite complexities of the observed body size trajectories that differ at various taxonomic and temporal scales, a common pattern emerges from our analyses: the mean size of crinoid calyx declined significantly around most of the major extinction events (during the late Ordovician, the mid-late Devonian, the end Permian and the mid-late Cretaceous). The observed decline in the mean size of crinoid calyces is mostly governed by extinction of larger taxa, except during the mid-late Cretaceous anoxic events, when it appears to be mostly driven by origination of small-sized taxa. Overall, these findings highlight important role of extinction events in altering body size evolution.

Benthic foraminiferal response to the Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 (Late Cretaceous) and evidence of bottom water re‐oxygenation during the Plenus Cold Event at Clot Chevalier (Vocontian Basin, SE France)

The Cenomanian-Turonian boundary interval is characterized by environmental perturbations related to the Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 (OAE 2) that severely affected the marine biota, including benthic and planktonic foraminifera. We present a continuous high-resolution benthic foraminiferal record in combination with published planktonic foraminiferal and geochemical data across the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary interval in the Clot Chevalier section (Vocontian Basin, SE France) with the aim to interpret paleoceanographic changes in bottom waters. Benthic foraminiferal assemblages are characterized by low diversity and indicate an outer shelf-upper bathyal environment. Changes in composition and abundance of the benthic assemblages throughout the stratigraphic section allow identification of seven distinct environments. In the middle Cenomanian, below the OAE 2, benthic foraminifera show high species diversity and abundance of infaunal and epifaunal taxa, suggesting an environment characterized by oxic conditions at the seafloor. The microfossil assemblages in the upper Cenomanian within the OAE 2 interval are dominated by radiolaria (> 50%) followed by benthic calcareous taxa (Gavelinella sp., Gyroidinoides sp., Praebulimina elata, Tappanina laciniosa). Benthic agglutinated taxa (Ammobaculites sp., Ammodiscus cretaceus, Gaudryina sp., Textulariopsis bettenstaedti) show high abundance in the lowest part of the OAE 2 and disappear close to the top of the interval. The assemblage composition and the highest values of Total Organic Carbon (TOC) registered in this interval suggest eutrophication and suboxic conditions at the seafloor. However, at ∼1 m above the onset of the OAE 2, the repopulation by inferred oxic benthic foraminiferal taxa (i.e., Frondicularia sp. and Ramulina aculeata) suggests ventilation of bottom water masses, recording the Plenus Cold Event (PCE). In the lowermost Turonian, the assemblages exhibit high species diversity and abundance with the re-appearance of calcareous taxa, indicating oxic conditions, and of agglutinated taxa associated to moderate oxygen concentrations. Results show that the distribution of benthic foraminifera follows fluctuations in oxygenation and carbon export flux at the seafloor interpreted as the environmental changes associated to the onset of the OAE 2 and of the PCE across the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary interval.

Effects of redox variability and early diagenesis on marine sedimentary Hg records

Volcanism is a dominant natural source of mercury (Hg) to the atmosphere, biosphere, ocean and sediments. In recent years, sedimentary Hg contents have emerged as a tool to reconstruct volcanic activity, and particularly activity of (subaerially emplaced) large igneous provinces in geological deep time. More specifically, Hg has shown potential as a useful proxy to illuminate the previously elusive impact of such large-scale volcanism on marine and terrestrial paleo-environments. While Hg is now widely applied as volcanism tracer, non-volcanic factors controlling sedimentary Hg content are generally not well constrained. Part of this uncertainty stems from our inability to directly observe a natural unperturbed “steady-state” environment as a baseline, as the modern Hg cycle is heavily influenced by anthropogenic activity. Here we focus on the effects of ambient redox conditions in the water column and shallow sediments (early diagenesis), quantify their influence on the geological Hg record and thereby contribute to constraining their potential impact on the use of Hg as a proxy for deep-time volcanic activity. Constraining these factors is of critical importance for the application of Hg as such a proxy. Many periods in the geological past for which records have been generated, such as the Mesozoic Oceanic Anoxic Events, are marked by a variety of high-amplitude environmental perturbations, including widespread deoxygenation and deposition of organic-rich sediments. We estimate the impact of redox changes and early diagenesis on the geological Hg record using a suite of (sub)recent–Pleistocene and Upper Cretaceous sediments representing oxic to euxinic marine conditions. Our sample set includes a transect through an oxygen minimum zone and cores that record transient shifts in oxygenation state, as well as post-depositional effects – all unrelated to volcanism, to the best of our knowledge. We find substantial alterations to the Hg record and the total organic carbon and total sulfur content, which are typically assumed to be the most common carrier phases of Hg in marine sediments. Moreover, these biases can lead to signal alteration on a par with those interpreted to result from volcanic activity. Geochemical modifications are ubiquitous and their potential magnitude implies that the factors leading to biases in the geological record warrant careful consideration before interpretation. Factors of particular concern to proxy application are (1) the disproportionate loss of organic carbon and sulfur relative to Hg during oxidation that strongly modulates normalized Hg records, (2) the evasion of Hg in anoxic and mildly euxinic sediments and (3) sharp focusing of Hg during post-depositional oxidation of organic matter. We suggest that paired analyses of additional redox-sensitive trace elements such as molybdenum, and organic-matter characteristics, particularly the type of organic matter, could provide first-order constraints on the role that redox and diagenetic changes played in shaping the Hg record as part of checking the attribution of enrichments to volcanic activity.

Volcanic activity drives lacustrine carbon sequestration after Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a

The Mesozoic was punctuated by relatively brief periods of anomalous warmth associated with pulses of volcanism, intensified weathering, expansive marine anoxia, and increased organic carbon burial. These are known as oceanic anoxic events (OAEs). Several OAEs have also been linked to potentially synchronous episodes of increased carbon burial in lacustrine settings, attributed to increased weathering-derived nutrient fluxes. Here we present the Early Aptian oil shale sequences of western Liaoning Province, north China, combining sediment petrology, zircon U-Pb geochronology, carbon isotope chemostratigraphy, as well inorganic and organic geochemical palaeoenvironmental proxies to assess possible causal links to OAE1a. New zircon 206Pb/238U ages (121.06 ± 0.63 Ma, 119.72 ± 0.40 Ma, and 119.9 ± 0.65 Ma) for three tuffs and δ13Corg chemostratigraphic correlation show that the western Liaoning Province oil shale interval formed shortly after widespread marine black shale deposition characteristic of OAE1a had ceased. Elevated concentrations of alginite (dinoflagellate-derived organic matter) in oil shale samples which contain micron-thick tuff layers suggest that arc volcanism in north China was the major factor driving increased lacustrine carbon burial, via volcanic ash fertilisation. This is supported by high values of Babio, C27/C29 ααα-20R steranes, C28/C29 ααα-20R steranes, 4-methylsterane index, dinosterane index, and tetramethylsterane index in these layers, which imply that the input of volcanic ash contributed to a flourishing of brackish/saline-water adapted dinoflagellates, leading to the formation of organic-rich tuff laminae. This is a novel mechanism that is distinct to the processes known to have contributed to enhanced marine organic matter burial on a global scale during OAE1a. This research not only contributes to the study of lacustrine source rocks in north China, but also provides insights into the influence of intermediate-acidic volcanic eruptions on organic carbon burial more generally.

Chemostratigraphy of the lower Danubian Cretaceous Group (Cenomanian–lower Turonian, Bavaria, SE Germany)—A new carbon isotope reference curve and inter-basinal correlation

Core section KB 06-2020, drilled north of Regensburg (SE Germany), covering the lower Danubian Cretaceous Group, has been logged in detail and sampled for chemostratigraphic investigation throughout the Cenomanian–lower Turonian. Resting unconformably on Upper Jurassic carbonates, the succession includes the Regensburg (lower Cenomanian–middle upper Cenomanian), the Eibrunn (Cenomanian–Turonian boundary interval), the Winzerberg (lower Turonian; Reinhausen and Knollensand members) and the Kagerhöh formations (middle Turonian, Eisbuckel and Pulverturm members only). The correlation of carbon stable-isotope trends from core section KB 06-2020 with the expanded Dover section (southern England) and the Bad Abbach section (south of Regensburg) provides evidence for a diachronous, NE-directed onlap of the Cretaceous strata onto the Bohemian Massif. Several Cenomanian carbon isotope events have been recognised (Mid-dixoni, P/B Break, Monument as well as the b1 and b2 peaks) while the selective absence of events above conspicuous sedimentary unconformities provides evidence for stratigraphic gaps associated with sea-level falls. A significant positive carbon isotope excursion in the Cenomanian–Turonian boundary interval, Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 (OAE 2), has been recorded in the Eibrunn Formation. Correlation with the European reference section from Eastbourne (southern England), Pont d'Issole (southern France), and the regional Grub section provides evidence of a rather complete development of OAE 2 in the Danubian Cretaceous Basin. The δ13C curve obtained from core section KB 06-2020 is proposed as a regional reference curve. Additionally, the Plenus Cold Event (PCE) is recognisable in the oxygen stable-isotope data.

Expression of the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event in the mixed siliciclastic–carbonate system of the Arabian Plate: Insights from rare-earth element geochemistry and statistical analysis

Rare earth elements and yttrium (REEY) are considered powerful indicators of paleo-redox conditions. However, to date, the utilization of REEY remains limited to either pure carbonates or deep marine shales, with little evidence of attempts to test their ability to depict marine anoxia within mixed carbonate–siliciclastic systems. Across the Tethys Ocean, the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE) is widely recorded by black marine shales with strong negative carbon isotopic excursion. Yet, the occurrence and expression of T-OAE across the mixed siliciclastic and carbonate system of the Arabian Plate has not been recorded or even explored. This provides a unique opportunity to test the robustness and viability of REEY, supported by statistical analysis, in revealing marine anoxia in a mixed system. Our results demonstrate a positive Ce anomaly within the middle Marrat, coupled with a positive Eu anomaly and aluminum-normalized Mn enrichment in the underlying lower Marrat carbonates. This could be hypothetically related to volcanic pulses, which triggered the T-OAE. Overall, the REEY geochemical record and detailed statistical analysis of this study indicate, for the first time, the possibility that T-OAE might have extended to the Arabian Plate for brief periods of time during the deposition of the middle Marrat shallow marine red beds.

An account of the lower Aptian ammonites of the Niveau Goguel (= OAE 1a) in the Vocontian Basin, SE France

It has long been claimed that ammonites are scarce, if not completely absent, during the deposition of the Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a, locally known as the Niveau Goguel (NG), in the Vocontian Basin, SE France. Here we provide the first description of ammonites found within, and above, the NG from three Vocontian key sections (Saint-Jaume, Serre Chaitieu, and Les Sauzeries-Basses). The ammonite fauna studied represents almost a hundred of specimens, most of which have been collected in situ and calibrated with the high-resolution lithostratigraphical framework previously established in those sections. The following palaeontological identifications are by no means to be considered as definitive and many taxa are left in open nomenclature pending more materiel to be collected. The collected material gives evidence of the upper Deshayesites forbesi Zone during the deposition of the NG, as well as the upper Deshayesites deshayesi Zone and upper Dufrenoyia furcata Zone in the overlying strata, that around the Niveau Blanc sensu lato (NB s.s.).

The large decline in carbonate δ238U from a PETM section at Tingri (South Tibet) was driven by local sea-level changes, not global oceanic anoxia

Uranium isotope compositions (δ238U) and Th/U in carbonates are being explored as paleoredox proxies to study global oceanic anoxia. However, the impact of changes to local depositional environments that might cause a decline in δ238U and an increase in Th/U has not been thoroughly investigated. Here we report a decline in δ238U (from +0.1 to −0.3‰) and an increase in Th/U from shallow-marine carbonates during the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum at Tingri (south Tibet). Changes of δ238U and Th/U are not fully coupled. The decline in δ238U coincided with a local sea-level fall, whereas the increase in Th/U occurred mainly during a sea-level rise. The decline in δ238U likely results from changes in redox conditions of pore waters and in primary carbonate mineralogy. The increase in Th/U is ascribed to reduced authigenic U(IV) accumulation. Our results suggest that changes in local depositional environments can cause behavior of δ238U and Th/U resembling that induced by expanded global oceanic anoxia. This finding calls for caution to consider local factors before applying δ238U and Th/U as global paleoredox proxies.

Revised onset age of magnetochron M0r: Chronostratigraphic and geologic implications

Abstract The timing of the onset of magnetochron M0r and its duration are disputed, reflecting both a limited set of radioisotopic dates and uncertain magnetostratigraphic correlations. We present a chronostratigraphic framework for a reversed polarity interval based on two chronometers (40Ar/39Ar, U-Pb) and newly published paleomagnetic data from the Qingshan Group, Jiaolai Basin, China. Bayesian modeling of U-Pb zircon and 40Ar/39Ar sanidine dates suggests a minimum duration of 540 ± 37 k.y. (95% credible interval) for the reversed polarity interval. These findings are compatible with an astrochronologic age model for M-sequence seafloor magnetic anomalies, indicating that the reversely magnetized sediments correspond to magnetochron M0r rather than the shorter chron “M-1r.” Integration of U-Pb and 40Ar/39Ar ages constrains the onset of M0r to 120.29 ± 0.09 Ma, which is ~1 m.y. younger than that inferred in the current geologic time scale (GTS 2020). This finding also implies that the Cretaceous normal superchron (CNS) began at 119.70 ± 0.12 Ma and that the average seafloor spreading rate during the CNS was ~3.5% higher than that inferred from GTS 2020. It also suggests that oceanic anoxic event 1a began at 119.40 ± 0.12 Ma, thereby providing an updated chronologic basis for exploring the primary trigger of this carbon cycle perturbation.

Cretaceous southern high latitude benthic foraminiferal assemblages during OAE 2 at IODP Site U1516, Mentelle Basin, Indian Ocean

At Site U1516 (Mentelle Basin, southeast Indian Ocean, offshore western Australia), the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 369 recovered an almost complete pelagic record of the Upper Cretaceous, including the Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 (OAE 2). To better understand paleoenvironmental changes across OAE 2, 32 samples were analysed for benthic foraminiferal abundance data that represent one of the few benthic foraminiferal datasets spanning the OAE 2 in the southern high latitudes.The OAE 2 interval at Site U1516 is characterized by an interval of low CaCO3 content that contains a prominent positive Carbon Isotope Excursion (CIE). The record of the OAE 2 can be subdivided in pre OAE 2, pre max-CIE, low CaCO3, and post low CaCO3 intervals. Through the Cenomanian–Turonian boundary, we document an extreme decline in benthic foraminifera during OAE 2, that is followed by a profound repopulation event in the post low CaCO3 interval.Benthic foraminiferal assemblages indicate an outer neritic to upper bathyal depositional environment. During the pre OAE 2 and pre max-CIE intervals, calcareous deep-water gavelinellids, lingulogavelinellids and gyroidinids are dominant. In the low-carbonate interval, the microfossil record documents a substantial increase in radiolaria and foraminifera are almost absent as only three out of nine samples contain benthic foraminifera. Changes in benthic foraminiferal assemblage composition are documented in the initial low CaCO3 interval, underlying the maximum CIE and associated interferences. Comparison of the pre- and post-CIE benthic foraminiferal assemblages highlights a distinct repopulation event during the post max- CIE interval mainly represented by the conspicuous increase in abundance of agglutinated taxa and Conorboides. Compared to other southern high latitude records, the dataset collected at Site U1516 represents one of the most complete benthic foraminiferal records across the OAE 2 that registers the Late Cretaceous environmental changes in the Southern Hemisphere.

Technical comment on “Reexamination of 2.5-Ga ‘whiff’ of oxygen interval points to anoxic ocean before GOE”

Many lines of inorganic geochemical evidence suggest transient "whiffs" of environmental oxygenation before the Great Oxidation Event (GOE). Slotznick etal. assert that analyses of paleoredox proxies in the Mount McRae Shale, Western Australia, were misinterpreted and hence that environmental O2 levels were persistently negligible before the GOE. We find these arguments logically flawed and factually incomplete.