Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event Research Articles

An introduction to the Triassic and Jurassic of the Junggar Basin, China: advances in palaeontology and environments

Abstract The Junggar Basin, NW China, hosts continuous and well-exposed Late Triassic and Jurassic continental strata. Extensive coal, oil and gas deposits occur within the basin and, together with the high-palaeolatitude locality and continental records of several Mesozoic geological events, make the sedimentary successions globally important. This special publication focuses on these successions, presenting recent advances in palaeontology, geology and palaeoenvironments. The contents span various topics, including studies of fauna, flora, stratigraphy, geochemistry, palaeogeography, palaeoclimate, petroleum reservoir quality, the end-Triassic mass extinction, the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event, Triassic–Jurassic seasonal freezing and true polar wander. To provide continuity throughout the various papers, where possible, bed numbers for all stratigraphic units are provided, enabling findings to be compared among studies and tested in the future. This special publication highlights that the sediments of the Junggar Basin provide important long-term records of continental life and environmental changes through the Triassic and Jurassic.

Deep-time Arctic climate archives: high-resolution coring of Svalbard's sedimentary record – SVALCLIME, a workshop report

Abstract. ​​​​​​​We held the MagellanPlus workshop SVALCLIME “Deep-time Arctic climate archives: high-resolution coring of Svalbard's sedimentary record”, from 18 to 21 October​​​​​​​ 2022 in Longyearbyen, to discuss scientific drilling of the unique high-resolution climate archives of Neoproterozoic to Paleogene age present in the sedimentary record of Svalbard. Svalbard is globally unique in that it facilitates scientific coring across multiple stratigraphic intervals within a relatively small area. The polar location of Svalbard for some of the Mesozoic and the entire Cenozoic makes sites in Svalbard highly complementary to the more easily accessible mid-latitude sites, allowing for investigation of the polar amplification effect over geological time. The workshop focused on how understanding the geological history of Svalbard can improve our ability to predict future environmental changes, especially at higher latitudes. This topic is highly relevant for the ICDP 2020–2030 Science Plan Theme 4 “Environmental Change” and Theme 1 “Geodynamic Processes”. We concluded that systematic coring of selected Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Paleogene age sediments in the Arctic should provide important new constraints on deep-time climate change events and the evolution of Earth's hydrosphere–atmosphere–biosphere system. We developed a scientific plan to address three main objectives through scientific onshore drilling on Svalbard: a. Investigate the coevolution of life and repeated icehouse–greenhouse climate transitions, likely forced by orbital variations, by coring Neoproterozoic and Paleozoic glacial and interglacial intervals in the Cryogenian (“Snowball/Slushball Earth”) and late Carboniferous to early Permian time periods.b. Assess the impact of Mesozoic Large Igneous Province emplacement on rapid climate change and mass extinctions, including the end-Permian mass extinction, the end-Triassic mass extinction, the Jenkyns Event (Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event), the Jurassic Volgian Carbon Isotopic Excursion and the Cretaceous Weissert Event and Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a.c. Examine the early Eocene hothouse and subsequent transition to a coolhouse world in the Oligocene by coring Paleogene sediments, including records of the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum, the Eocene Thermal Maximum 2, and the Eocene–Oligocene transition. The SVALCLIME science team created plans for a 3-year drilling programme using two platforms: (1) a lightweight coring system for holes of ∼ 100 m length (4–6 sites) and (2) a larger platform that can drill deep holes of up to ∼ 2 km (1–2 sites). In situ wireline log data and fluid samples will be collected in the holes, and core description and sampling will take place at The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) in Longyearbyen. The results from the proposed scientific drilling will be integrated with existing industry and scientific boreholes to establish an almost continuous succession of geological environmental data spanning the Phanerozoic. The results will significantly advance our understanding of how the interplay of internal and external Earth processes are linked with global climate change dynamics, the evolution of life, and mass extinctions.

Spatially heterogenous seawater δ34S and global cessation of Ca-sulfate burial during the Toarcian oceanic anoxic event

The early Toarcian of the Early Jurassic saw a long-term positive carbon-isotope excursion (CIE) abruptly interrupted by a significant negative excursion (nCIE), associated with rapid global warming and an oceanic anoxic event (T-OAE, ∼183 Ma). However, the detailed processes and mechanisms behind widespread ocean deoxygenation are unclear. Here, we present high-resolution carbonate-associated sulfate sulfur-isotope (δ34SCAS) records spanning the late Pliensbachian–Toarcian (Pl–To) interval from the Tibetan Himalaya. We observe a large positive sulfur-isotope excursion (SIE) from ∼20‰ (around the Pl–To boundary) to ∼40‰ (around the end of the T-OAE nCIE), attributed to large-scale burial of reduced sulfur (pyrite and sulfurized organic matter) under widespread anoxic/euxinic conditions. Importantly, high δ34SCAS values were maintained into the mid–late Toarcian, even when global anoxic conditions diminished. The δ34S data confirm significant spatial heterogeneity in seawater δ34S compositions during the whole of the Toarcian, and provide strong evidence for a two-phase pattern of ocean deoxygenation. Upwelling of 34S-enriched equatorial deep water, affected by significant reduced-sulfur burial, likely caused the greatly amplified SIE in the formerly adjacent Tibetan area. By contrast, the dampened magnitude of the Toarcian SIE in Europe is attributed to a smaller, local reduced-sulfur sink. Box-modeling results indicate that the persistent post-T-OAE positive δ34S values were likely maintained because of a global reduction in Ca-sulfate (gypsum and anhydrite) burial driven by declining and continuously low seawater sulfate concentrations during and after the T-OAE. This geochemical pattern, albeit markedly reducing the total amount of global pyrite sequestration, increased the proportion of reduced to oxidized sulfur burial needed to generate the observed positive δ34S values.

The Ferrar Continental Flood Basalt: A ∼1.6 Ma long duration evidenced by high-precision 40Ar/39Ar ages suggest a potential role in the Pliensbachian-Toarcian extinction event

One of the most impassioned topics in large igneous province (LIP) research is how prolonged the duration of these large-scale magmatic events are, as LIP magmatism has considerable impact on models of associated reconstructions, of climate variability or tectonic events. High-precision geochronology is pivotal to LIP basalt emplacement rate, and thus to unravel the role these enormous magmatic events have throughout Earths geological and environmental history. Four high-precision 40Ar/39Ar plagioclase plateau ages for the Tasmanian dolerites (Ferrar) indicate ∼1.6 ± 0.4 Ma of resolvable, continuous magmatic activity; 184.27 ± 0.24 to 182.69 ± 0.54 Ma (2σ). The 40Ar/39Ar results provide evidence of distinctly older intrusions and a more prolonged duration than the observed 182.4-182.9 Ma age range and duration indicated by the main zircon record. Moreover, the precision of our 40Ar/39Ar results coupled with secondary electron microscopy analyses provide evidence of plagioclase crystal inheritance from slightly older magmatism entrained into younger magmatic pulses by exploiting pre-existing conduits. Numerical diffusion models, calculated for a theoretical age spectrum resulting from two slightly different plagioclase ages, provide an excellent match for measured data. Coupling geochemical data to the new age data indicates a silica and incompatible element evolution of the Ferrar magmatic system through time. The older generation of intrusions (ca. Zr: 92 ppm, SiO2: 53.67 wt.%) are seemingly less enriched in incompatible elements and silica than the youngest generation (ca. Zr: 147 ppm, SiO2: 56.5 wt.%). Here, we suggest that the magma chambers differentiated to more incompatible/silica-rich compositions saturating zircon only at evolved magmatic stages. This implies that plagioclase dates the full duration of magmatic Ferrar LIP activity of ca. 1.6 Myrs whilst zircon ages might be naturally biased and restricted to post-Zr saturation stage. The extended duration of Ferrar magmatism indicates that it is coeval with the Pliensbachian-Toarcian boundary. Therefore, we speculate that Ferrar (±Karoo) magmatism triggered the Pliensbachian-Toarcian extinction event and contributed to the Toarcian oceanic anoxic event, from which the environment did not begin to recover until only after the waning and cessation of Ferrar magmatic activity at ∼182 Ma, with zircon crystals recording the final flux of magma.

Ecosystem recovery after the Early Jurassic T-OAE in the Châabet El Attaris section of the Tunisian Atlas

The flooding of the Pliensbachian shelf of the North-South Axis of Central Tunisia during the early Toarcian favoured the development of organic-rich facies in the most subsiding areas, such as that represented by the Châabet El Attaris section. The lower Toarcian strata in this section is represented by organic matter-rich sediments (dark laminated marls with low carbonate content) and the negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE) of the Jenkyns Event. The relatively high TOC values, increase of redox sensitive elements, and the absence of benthic organisms confirm the adverse conditions for life at the sea floor (suboxic to anoxic conditions) during the polymorphum Biozone and lower part of the levisoni Biozone. This indicates that the Jenkyns Event is expressed in this setting as the so-called Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE). The diversity and abundance of the calcareous nannoplankton was very low during the early Toarcian.After the T-OAE, the decrease in TOC and the low values of the geochemical redox proxies indicate a re‑oxygenation of the bottom waters, parallel with an increase of the carbonate content of the facies. After the negative CIE, the record of benthic macroinvertebrates (such as brachiopods, bivalves, ophiuroids and echinoids) and trace fossils (Zoophycos, Thalassinoides, Planolites, Chondrites, and locally Trichichnus) confirms the re‑oxygenation of the sea floor with increased diversity and abundance from the upper levisoni Biozone and bifrons Biozone. Benthic foraminifera colonization of the sea floor is evidenced by assemblages dominated by infaunal taxa, specially opportunist forms, such as Lenticulina, and progressive increase of diversity and abundance that confirms oxic pore-waters from the levisoni-bifrons biozone boundary. Planktic organisms attest to a progressive recovery of environmental conditions in the photic zone with increasing diversity and abundance of calcareous nannoplankton and radiolarians from the uppermost part of the levisoni Biozone and the bifrons Biozone. A first pulse after the negative CIE is represented by placoliths of the genus Lotharingius (shallow dweller) interpreted as a renewed input of nutrients to surface waters. The subsequent dominance of muroliths, especially of Crepidolithus crassus (a deep dweller), suggests a successive restoration of the deep-photic zone communities. These observations point towards enhanced oxygen availability in deep waters and pore waters due to improved basin ventilation.Taphonomic features of foraminifera pointing to dissolution in the bifrons Biozone are related to a lowered pH below the redox boundary within the sediment. In the same way, the presence of ferruginous moulds of microfossils (gastropods, bivalves, brachiopods, foraminifera, sponge spicules and radiolarians) with framboidal texture, actually preserved as goethite but originally pyrite, confirm the presence of reducing conditions within the sediment below the redox boundary. The record of Trichichnus confirms the reducing conditions in the deepest infaunal environments during the bifrons Biozone and is consistent with the development of pyrite moulds of microfossils early in the diagenesis.

Sedimentary differentiation triggered by the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event and formation of lacustrine shale oil reservoirs: Organic matter accumulation and pore system evolution of the Early Jurassic sedimentary succession, Sichuan Basin, China

Sedimentary differentiation triggered by the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event and formation of lacustrine shale oil reservoirs: Organic matter accumulation and pore system evolution of the Early Jurassic sedimentary succession, Sichuan Basin, China

Partial paleobathymetric restriction from the local North Sea Dome in the Viking Corridor during the Early-Middle Jurassic

The Early-Middle Jurassic (∼201–161.5 Ma) was characterized by major fluctuations in Earth's climate, tectonic activity, and large-scale magmatic events. There has been considerable focus on understanding the mechanisms that triggered the Early Jurassic Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (TOAE; ∼183 Ma)—a warming episode associated with a perturbation of the carbon cycle. This was marked by a negative δ13C isotope excursion (CIE) and CO2 release from the Karoo-Ferrar Large Igneous Province (KF-LIP)—resulting in widespread organic carbon burial under strong euxinic marine conditions. Despite extensive study of the TOAE from the NW European epicontinental shelf, less focus has been placed on the influence of North Sea Dome (NSD) uplift (late Toarcian-early Aalenian) and eruption (Bajocian-Bathonian) on Jurassic paleoceanography. The NSD is a local feature commonly invoked as a driver of regional paleoclimatic conditions—a bathymetric barrier between warm Tethyan Ocean and cooler Boreal Sea waters. This study contributes new, high-resolution geochemical data derived from Viking Corridor (VC) cores and cuttings that fills a critical spatial and temporal gap in records spanning the Early-Middle Jurassic. Redox-sensitive trace elements (RSTEs; Mo/Al, U/Al, V/Al) as well as Cd*Mn and Cd/Mo ratios were used to reconstruct paleoceanographic and redox conditions. We track magmatic events and their implications using the relative enrichment of Hg, and attempt to decouple global versus regional/local volcanic systems with the enrichment factor values of mafic trace metals (MTM-EFs; Co, Cu, Ni, and Cr). Varying concentrations of RSTEs and a particulate shuttle mechanism during the Early-Middle Jurassic suggest that the VC had fluctuating paleoredox conditions, and that the NSD did not fully restrict the VC. We document a negative CIE as well as high Hg influxes during the TOAE—likely associated with KF-LIP eruptions (Early Jurassic). In addition, pulses of elevated Hg and MTM-EF values were observed during the Aalenian and Bajocian (Middle Jurassic) that were likely a result of NSD uplift and eruptions. The subaerial exposure of the NSD created progressively restricted conditions during the Aalenian-Bajocian, but the seaway between the VC and European epicontinental shelf remained open. Together, this work provides evidence that the NSD had a critical role in driving paleobathymetric and paleoceanographic conditions during the Early-Middle Jurassic. Furthermore, this study provides a geochemical insight into the interplay between δ13C isotope excursions, the KF-LIP, the NSD, and Hg-RSTE-MTM systems during an important transition in the Earth's biogeochemical history.

A thermophilous and arid-tolerant flora from the Lower Jurassic of the Junggar Basin, Xinjiang, NW China, corresponding to the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event

Abstract Twenty taxa of fossil plants are described from the Sangonghe Formation (Lower Jurassic) of the Haojiagou section in the Junggar Basin, Xinjiang, NW China. The Sangonghe flora consists of Equisetales, ferns, bennettitaleans, ginkgoes, conifers and gnetales, but is dominated by ferns. It is a low-species-diversity but extraordinary flora as it has a high proportion (45%) of thermophilous or arid-tolerant (xerophilous) elements, in comparison to 0% in the underlying Badaowan Formation and c. 2% in the overlying Xishanyao Formation. These thermophilous or arid-tolerant (xerophilous) elements include Marattiopsis asiatica Kawasaki, Phlebopteris polypodioides Brongniart and Dictyophyllum sp. (ferns), Otozamites leckenbyi Harris, Otozamites sp., Zamites sp. and Dictyozamites sp. (bennettitaleans), Brachyphyllum ( Hirmeriella ?) sp. (conifers) and Cadmisega ephedroides Krassilov and Bugdaeva (gnetales). Based on the geological ranges of the known species and comparisons with coeval floras in Eurasia, the age of the Sangonghe flora is Toarcian (Early Jurassic). The flora reveals a climatic warming and aridification event that occurred during the Toarcian in the Junggar Basin. Palaeontological (including palaeobotanical and palynological), sedimentological and geochemical data demonstrate that warming and aridification occurred widely across the north of China during the Toarcian, and that this might be the response of the terrestrial ecosystem to the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event.

The Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event in a shelf environment (Eastern Tethys): Implications for weathering and redox conditions

The Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE) is characterized by significant environmental perturbation and climatic instabilities due to a substantial release of greenhouse gasses. Several investigations of the T-OAE were conducted based on reliable and well-developed integration of multi-proxy approaches, revealing the global distribution of this event in the Panthalassic, Boreal, and Western Tethyan regions. However, a few marine shelf T-OAE records are reported from the Eastern Tethys. This study presents high-resolution organic and inorganic and isotope geochemistry, mineralogical, and sedimentological analyses from the marine Suobucha section of the Qiangtang Basin to assess the role of continental weathering and paleoceanographic conditions, including paleoredox and paleoproductivity conditions, and factors that govern organic carbon accumulation during the T-OAE in the Eastern Tethys. The carbon isotope profile of Suobucha displays a long-term negative excursion characterizing the Jenkyns Event, which is recognized in geographically widespread sedimentary archives indicating its global nature. Continental weathering was intensified at the onset of the Jenkyns Event. Increased values of fluvial detrital proxies (i.e., Si/Al and Ti/Al) and the occurrence of coarser-grained sediments (i.e., silty mudstones) at Suobucha indicated enhanced terrigenous input at the onset of the Jenkyns Event, which was driven by accelerated continental weathering at this time. The lower Toarcian interval in the marine shelf environment of the Qiangtang Basin is characterized by fully oxidizing conditions intermittent with minor phases of dysoxic setting, especially during the Jenkyns Event interval. Given that a stratified water column with anoxic bottom water occurred in the proximal and more restricted lagoonal area (i.e., the Bilong Co area), redox conditions were spatially variable and controlled by basin hydrography and water depth during the Jenkyns Event in the Qiangtang Basin. Oxygen-enriched conditions and low marine bioproductivity were responsible for the low organic carbon burial within the Suobucha section.

Geochemical fingerprinting of fossils with uncertain stratigraphic provenance: A case study from the Lower Jurassic Nishinakayama Formation (Yamaguchi, Japan)

A fossil without provenance data is problematic because it cannot be placed into meaningful paleoecological and paleobiogeographic contexts. This problem is particularly acute when the fossil is suspected or known to have originated from a formation within which a major interval of biotic and/or paleoenvironmental change has been recognized that could change the paleobiological implications of the taxon in question. Two reptile fossil specimens (a testudinate and a crocodylomorph) preserved within ex situ mudstone cobbles of the Lower Jurassic (Pliensbachian-Toarcian) Nishinakayama Formation in Yamaguchi, Japan exemplify this problem. Both specimens are preserved alongside associated ammonoid fossils that biostratigraphically constrain them to the Toarcian interval of the Nishinakayama Formation, but it is unclear whether their stratigraphic provenance is below, within, or above the interval of the formation that preserves the chemostratigraphic markers of the Toarcian Ocean Anoxic Event (T-OAE, ∼182.5 ​Ma), which were first established at the nearby locality Sakuraguchidani. Herein, we used isotope ratio mass spectrometry and portable energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence to investigate the geochemistry of sedimentary matrix sampled from each fossil and a new measured stratigraphic section of the Nishinakayama Formation close to where the fossil specimens were found. We interpret a ∼2‰ positive shift in δ13Corg at the base of the section as the recovery of the negative carbon isotope excursion associated with the T-OAE, providing additional evidence of the event from a new locality within the Nishinakayama Formation. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) of the total geochemical dataset was then used to explore the multivariate separateness of binned intervals of the composite section and predict the provenance of each fossil. The results suggest with 93.33% confidence that both fossils were derived from strata above the T-OAE interval. This predictive method can be applied to any fossil collected ex situ with preserved rock matrix and for which the general provenance is known or suspected.

A First Record of Lower Jurassic (Toarcian) Coleoid Jaws in Siberia

In the present paper, we describe several coleoid jaws discovered in the lower Toarcian black shales, cropping out along the Vilyui River (Yakutia, Russia). This is the first record of a Lower Jurassic coleoid jaw outside Europe and the first report of such a finding from the Mesozoic of Siberia. The described coleoid jaws demonstrate the same mode of preservation and morphology as the coeval jaws previously reported from Europe. Their preservation in Siberia became possible due to the widespread occurrence of black shale facies associated with the early Toarcian oceanic anoxic event (TOAE).

Accelerated hydrological cycle during the Toarcian oceanic anoxic event: Biomarker evidence in the Qiangtang Basin, eastern Tethys

Accelerated hydrological cycle during the Toarcian oceanic anoxic event: Biomarker evidence in the Qiangtang Basin, eastern Tethys

Glendonite-bearing concretions from the upper Pliensbachian (Lower Jurassic) of South Germany: indicators for a massive cooling in the European epicontinental sea

The Pliensbachian–Toarcian transition was characterised by a drastic turnover from a cool climate to a period of rapid global warming. While the warming associated with the Early Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event is rather well-studied, the cause, intensity and extent of the preceding cooling in the late Pliensbachian are still discussed. Occurrences of glendonite play an important role in this debate, since glendonite is a pseudomorph after the cryophilic carbonate mineral ikaite. This study describes the first glendonite-bearing carbonate concretions from South Germany (Buttenheim clay pit, northern Franconian Alb), which represent the southernmost glendonite occurrence in the late Pliensbachian documented so far. Based on petrographical and sedimentological investigations as well as stable isotope analyses it is concluded that a low temperature was the main factor for ikaite formation in the studied section, suggesting that the late Pliensbachian cooling had a more far-reaching impact on the temperature of the European epicontinental sea than previously assumed. To explain the low temperatures required for ikaite precipitation, a model for the sea-ice driven formation of cold bottom-water masses on the continental shelf is proposed. The occurrence of several layers containing reworked hiatus concretions in the studied outcrop is interpreted as the result of recurrent sea-level falls caused by multiple glacial pulses characterising the overall cool climate in the late Pliensbachian.

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.

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

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.

Suboxic conditions prevailed during the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event in the Alpine-Mediterranean Tethys: The Sogno Core pelagic record (Lombardy Basin, northern Italy)

Suboxic conditions prevailed during the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event in the Alpine-Mediterranean Tethys: The Sogno Core pelagic record (Lombardy Basin, northern Italy)

Long duration of benthic ecological recovery from the early Toarcian (Early Jurassic) mass extinction event in the Cleveland Basin, UK

The Cleveland Basin of Yorkshire, UK hosts one of the most iconic Lower Jurassic rock successions for studying the Toarcian oceanic anoxic event and the associated mass extinction, yet our understanding of the subsequent ecological recovery is limited. This study documents for the first time the full extent and nature of benthic macrofaunal recovery from the early Toarcian mass extinction event within the Cleveland Basin. Benthic oxygen levels remained low following the extinction event, allowing specialist communities that were tolerant to low oxygen levels to dominate. Recovery began properly once the seafloor ventilation had begun to improve and was first expressed by an expanded ecological tiering structure. Recovery progressed slowly thereafter with the possible return to oxygen-restricted environments. As sea-levels fell and sand-dominated deposition again occurred within the basin, the recovery accelerated, with ecological and species richness being reattained and even exceeding pre-extinction levels. Full recovery occurred, at the latest, c. 7 myr after the extinction event; this duration is on par with estimates of recovery rates from the largest mass extinction event of the Phanerozoic (the end-Permian mass extinction event). Recovery within the Cleveland Basin was likely to have been strongly influenced by local sea-levels and the continuation of challenging environmental conditions after the extinction event. Supplementary material: Benthic fossil occurrence data are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.6332986