Six-fold increase of atmospheric pCO2 during the Permian–Triassic mass extinction
Yuyang Wu, Daoliang Chu, Jinnan Tong, Haijun Song, Jacopo Dal Corso, Paul B. Wignall, Huyue Song, Yong Du, Ying Cui
Abstract
Abstract The Permian–Triassic mass extinction was marked by a massive release of carbon into the ocean-atmosphere system, evidenced by a sharp negative carbon isotope excursion. Large carbon emissions would have increased atmospheric p CO 2 and caused global warming. However, the magnitude of p CO 2 changes during the PTME has not yet been estimated. Here, we present a continuous p CO 2 record across the PTME reconstructed from high-resolution δ 13 C of C 3 plants from southwestern China. We show that p CO 2 increased from 426 +133/−96 ppmv in the latest Permian to 2507 +4764/−1193 ppmv at the PTME within about 75 kyr, and that the reconstructed p CO 2 significantly correlates with sea surface temperatures. Mass balance modelling suggests that volcanic CO 2 is probably not the only trigger of the carbon cycle perturbation, and that large quantities of 13 C-depleted carbon emission from organic matter and methane were likely required during complex interactions with the Siberian Traps volcanism.