Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yuangeng Huang, Zhong-Qiang Chen, Peter D. Roopnarine, Michael J. Benton, Laishi Zhao, Xueqian Feng, Zhenhua Li
Summary: The history of Earth's biodiversity has been marked by periodic mass extinctions, with major declines in species richness. However, the accompanying ecological collapse has seldom been quantitatively evaluated. The Permian-Triassic mass extinction, as the largest known extinction event, permanently changed marine ecosystems and facilitated the transition from the Paleozoic to Mesozoic faunas. This extinction event provides insight into the relationship between species richness and ecological dynamics during severe extinctions, but the ecological collapse during this event has not been thoroughly examined.
Article
Geology
Anik K. Regan, Raymond R. Rogers, Steven M. Holland
Summary: A study conducted in Montana, USA, shows that there is little difference in the probability of occurrence of higher taxa fossils in channel and floodplain deposits, except for plants. This supports the recent model that suggests organisms are initially buried in floodplain deposits, then exhumed by migrating rivers, and finally buried in channels. Furthermore, it was found that plants have a higher probability of occurrence in high-accommodation systems tracts, while vertebrates have a higher probability of occurrence in channels of the low-accommodation systems tract.
Article
Paleontology
Pia A. Viglietti, Alexis Rojas, Martin Rosvall, Brady Klimes, Kenneth D. Angielczyk, Philip Mannion
Summary: This study analysed the Permo-Triassic vertebrate assemblage zones (AZs) in South Africa's Karoo Basin. The results showed that historical frameworks are still reliable in identifying these AZs, but the Cistecephalus AZ may consist of two discrete communities. The study also found that the Lystrosaurus declivis AZ can be traced across all frameworks, indicating a genuine extinction event during this interval.
Article
Geology
Diego A. Kietzmann, Maria Paula Iglesia Llanos, Federico Gonzalez Tomassini, Ivan Lanusse Noguera, Dolores Vallejo, Hernan Reijenstein
Summary: This study presents the first regional biostratigraphic analysis on the calpionellid zones and assemblages in the Tithonian-lower Valanginian interval in the Neuquen Basin of Western Argentina. It identifies numerous calpionellid species and biozones, allowing for chronostratigraphic correlations between the Tethys and Southeastern Pacific regions. The study also highlights the importance of the Vaca Muerta Formation as a significant unconventional hydrocarbon reservoir in the world.
CRETACEOUS RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Katharine M. Loughney, Steven M. Holl
Summary: One of the goals of sequence stratigraphy is to model the conditions that generate stratigraphic architecture at different scales. Different types of basins have different trends in architecture, but architectural transitions within individual basins are more important indicators than comparisons among all basins.
Article
Geology
Spencer G. Lucas, Charles Henderson, James E. Barrick, Karl Krainer
Summary: This paper reports the discovery of conodont assemblages from the lower part of the Los Vallos Formation of the Yeso Group in the Caballo Mountains of south-central New Mexico. These conodonts indicate that the Los Valles Formation is approximately middle Leonardian in age and establish the presence of an extensive marine transgression across much of New Mexico.
Article
Geology
Gilda Lopes, Zelia Pereira, Paulo Fernandes, Joao Marques, Marcia Mendes, Annette E. Goetz
Summary: The increase in palynological works in Mozambique over the past decade has shed light on the regional biostratigraphy and paleoenvironmental conditions during the Permian. The new biostratigraphic information from the Moatize-Minj ova Coal Basin calls for an update on the lithostratigraphic correlation of Lower Karoo basins in Mozambique. The palynological associations provide insights into the evolution and potential diachronism of boundaries between different geological periods.
NEWSLETTERS ON STRATIGRAPHY
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Marine
Christine Erbe, David Peel, Joshua N. Smith, Renee P. Schoeman
Summary: The study focuses on modeling and mapping underwater sound in the Australian maritime Exclusive Economic Zone by employing a multivariate Gaussian mixture model to cluster environmental parameters into 20 maritime acoustic zones. The results provide mean zone parameters and shape files for download, which can be used to map underwater sound from commercial shipping within the entire Australian EEZ.
JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
(2021)
Review
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Boheng Shen, Shuzhong Shen, Qiong Wu, Shuichang Zhang, Bin Zhang, Xiangdong Wang, Zhangshuai Hou, Dongxun Yuan, Yichun Zhang, Feng Liu, Jun Liu, Hua Zhang, Yukun Shi, Jun Wang, Zhuo Feng
Summary: This study critically reviews the chronostratigraphy and biostratigraphy of the latest Carboniferous and Permian in the North China Block and provides insights into the stratigraphic correlation and geological events. The study also estimates the amplitude of sea-level changes and highlights the favorable period for coal accumulation during the late Carboniferous and early Permian. The climatic shift during the Permian is attributed to the northward migration of the Pangea and the closure of the Paleo Asian Ocean.
SCIENCE CHINA-EARTH SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Mark D. Schmitz, Hermann W. Pfefferkorn, Shu-Zhong Shen, Jun Wang
Summary: A 66 cm thick volcanic ash fall tuff with a paleobotanical fossil lagerstatte has been dated to 298.34 +/- 0.09 Ma in the Wuda coal district of North China. This finding provides a well-defined position of the Carboniferous-Permian boundary near the northern edge of the North China Block and suggests a revision of the age of the Taiyuan Formation in the northern part of the block.
REVIEW OF PALAEOBOTANY AND PALYNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Geology
Stephen E. Grasby, Omid H. Ardakani, Xiaojun Liu, David P. G. Bond, Paul B. Wignall, Lorna J. Strachan
Summary: The Permian-Triassic mass extinction interval is characterized by abnormal enrichment of organic carbon found in black shales. Through studying deposits in New Zealand, researchers discovered that the organic matter in these shales is primarily composed of marine snow formed from algal blooms. Simulations suggest that ash fall from volcanic eruptions in the Siberian Traps enriched the Panthalassa Ocean with phosphorus and iron, leading to a significant biobloom during the mass extinction event.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yuyang Wu, Ying Cui, Daoliang Chu, Haijun Song, Jinnan Tong, Jacopo Dal Corso, Andy Ridgwell
Summary: By incorporating reconstructions of atmospheric PCO2 and carbonate δ13C into an Earth system model, this study reveals that the source and rate of carbon emissions during the end-Permian mass extinction (EPME) changed over time, transitioning from a slower emission rate with a thermogenic carbon isotopic signature to a faster emission rate with a heavier, more mantle-dominated volcanic source. This finding is supported by geochemical proxy records. The study also suggests that feedbacks from terrestrial ecosystem disturbances contributed to the warming and severity of marine extinctions during the EPME.
Article
Geography, Physical
Qi Ju, Yi-chun Zhang, Feng Qiao, Hai-peng Xu
Summary: This study documents a new Middle Permian foraminiferal fauna from the Xiala Formation in the central Lhasa Block, which is characterized by the presence of the Shanita-Hemigordiopsis foraminiferal assemblage aged to be the early Midian. The global review of the Shanita-Hemigordiopsis assemblage confirms its age range and distribution pattern, suggesting the influence of oceanic currents flowing from equatorial regions to the Gondwanan margin along the Neotethys Ocean.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Lorenzo Marchetti, Antoine Logghe, Eudald Mujal, Pascal Barrier, Christian Montenat, Andre Nel, Jean-Marc Pouillon, Romain Garrouste, J. Sebastien Steyer
Summary: This study revises and identifies the tetrapod ichnoassociation from the Pe 'litique Formation in the Le Luc Basin of Provence, providing evidence of the post-dinocephalian extinction recovery in the late Capitanian. This extinction event was possibly linked to a global benthic marine mass extinction and the climatic perturbation caused by volcanic activity in China. The findings confirm the global impact of the late Capitanian terrestrial mass extinction and the subsequent recovery in low-latitude realms.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Lope Ezquerro, Aranzazu Luzon, Jose L. Simon, Carlos L. Liesa
Summary: The Teruel Basin in Spain is a significant area for late Neogene mammal fossil sites, and a robust stratigraphic framework combined with magnetostratigraphy can accurately establish the chronology of sedimentary units and mammal sites.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2022)