Title: Ocean euxinia and climate change “double whammy” drove the Late Ordovician mass extinction
Abstract: Research Article| April 16, 2018 Ocean euxinia and climate change "double whammy" drove the Late Ordovician mass extinction Caineng Zou; Caineng Zou 1China National Petroleum Corporation, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, 100083 Beijing, China2National Energy Shale Gas Research & Development (Experiment) Center, 065007 Langfang, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Zhen Qiu; Zhen Qiu * 1China National Petroleum Corporation, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, 100083 Beijing, China2National Energy Shale Gas Research & Development (Experiment) Center, 065007 Langfang, China *E-mails: [email protected]; [email protected] Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Simon W. Poulton; Simon W. Poulton * 3School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK *E-mails: [email protected]; [email protected] Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Dazhong Dong; Dazhong Dong 1China National Petroleum Corporation, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, 100083 Beijing, China2National Energy Shale Gas Research & Development (Experiment) Center, 065007 Langfang, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Hongyan Wang; Hongyan Wang 1China National Petroleum Corporation, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, 100083 Beijing, China2National Energy Shale Gas Research & Development (Experiment) Center, 065007 Langfang, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Daizhao Chen; Daizhao Chen 4Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IGG-CAS), 100029 Beijing, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Bin Lu; Bin Lu 1China National Petroleum Corporation, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, 100083 Beijing, China2National Energy Shale Gas Research & Development (Experiment) Center, 065007 Langfang, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Zhensheng Shi; Zhensheng Shi 1China National Petroleum Corporation, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, 100083 Beijing, China2National Energy Shale Gas Research & Development (Experiment) Center, 065007 Langfang, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Huifei Tao Huifei Tao 5Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources Research, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 730000 Lanzhou, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (2018) 46 (6): 535–538. https://doi.org/10.1130/G40121.1 Article history received: 30 Jan 2018 rev-recd: 09 Apr 2018 accepted: 09 Apr 2018 first online: 16 Apr 2018 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Caineng Zou, Zhen Qiu, Simon W. Poulton, Dazhong Dong, Hongyan Wang, Daizhao Chen, Bin Lu, Zhensheng Shi, Huifei Tao; Ocean euxinia and climate change "double whammy" drove the Late Ordovician mass extinction. Geology 2018;; 46 (6): 535–538. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G40121.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search nav search search input Search input auto suggest search filter All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract The Late Ordovician mass extinction (LOME, ca. 445 Ma) was the first of the "Big Five" Phanerozoic extinction events and comprised two extinction pulses. Proposed kill mechanisms include glacially induced global cooling and the expansion of water-column anoxia and/or euxinia (sulfidic conditions), but no general consensus has been reached with regard to the precise role of these mechanisms. A more definitive understanding is hampered by poorly constrained temporal links between the extinction pulses and climate change, and by uncertainty over the spatial distribution and intensity of euxinia. Here, we utilize Fe speciation and Mo concentrations, in addition to the chemical index of alteration weathering proxy, to reconstruct ocean redox conditions and climate change across a Late Ordovician to Early Silurian shelf-to-slope transect on the Yangtze Shelf Sea (a siliciclastic-dominated shelf basin in South China). These data show two cycles of expanded euxinia corresponding to the two pulses of the LOME, suggesting a strong causal relationship. Significantly, we show that intermittent or weak euxinia developed during the first extinction pulse, which likely accounts for the loss of benthic fauna and some planktonic organisms and nektonic groups. By contrast, the development of more intense euxinia throughout the water column during the second pulse likely drove survival fauna to extinction. Superimposed upon this, significant global cooling occurred across the first extinction phase, reflecting a secondary role in driving the extinction of certain low-latitude taxa. You do not currently have access to this article.