Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Qi Meng, Wuqiang Xue, Fayao Chen, Jiaxin Yan, Jiahua Cai, Yadong Sun, Paul B. Wignall, Ke Liu, Zhichen Liu, Deng Chen
Summary: This study investigates the Guadalupian SRDs on the Yangtze Carbonate Platform, showing that changes in carbonate productivity during this time have significant impacts on biotic turnovers and environmental factors. The research also reveals three stages of SRDs onlap during the platform evolution and their correlation with eustatic sea-level fluctuations.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Shi Sun, Anqing Chen, Mingcai Hou, Shuai Yang, James G. Ogg, Hao Zou, Shenglin Xu, Qian Li, Yifan Huang, Ruixuan Li, Hongde Chen
Summary: This study reports on a GLB section of the South China Block, analyzing the residues of acid-insoluble material from carbonate rocks to estimate weathering intensity and associated climatic fluctuations. Different weathering units were identified, showing a correlation with climate variation during the critical interval.
JOURNAL OF ASIAN EARTH SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biology
Jun Liu, Fernando Abdala
Summary: During the late Permian period, therapsids were widely distributed in Pangea, with South Africa and Russia being the principal areas of record. Recent field explorations in China have increased the importance of late Permian fossil assemblages, particularly in the discovery of new species of therocephalians from the Naobaogou Formation. In this study, a new species of the emblematic South African taxon Euchambersia, called Euchambersia liuyudongi, was identified from a well-preserved skull and mandible. The record of this therocephalian genus in both northern and southern continents in the Naobaogou Formation is key to understanding the evolution of late Permian continental fauna, especially akidnognathid therocephalians.
Article
Geology
Chunjiang Wang, Henk Visscher
Summary: By examining the marine Permian-Triassic reference section in Meishan, China, researchers identified molecular biomarkers of Gigantopteris, a distinctive Permian plant, providing evidence of synchronous extinction between terrestrial and marine organisms. The study also revealed a parallel reduction in lignin phenols, indicating that aridity-driven extinction may have affected the entire wetland flora in the region.
Article
Geography, Physical
Kunio Kaiho, Stephen E. Grasby, Zhong-Qiang Chen
Summary: A series of environmental extreme events and mass extinctions were discovered at the Guadalupian-Lopingian boundary (GLB), which may have been caused by volcanic eruptions of the Emeishan large igneous province (LIP). The study suggests that volcanic activity related to the Emeishan LIP may have led to these environmental extreme events and mass extinctions.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Shu-zhong Shen, Dong-xun Yuan, Charles M. Henderson, Lance L. Lambert, Yi-chun Zhang, Douglas H. Erwin, Jahandar Ramezani, Xiang-dong Wang, Hua Zhang, Qiong Wu, Wen-qian Wang, Jonena M. Hearst, Jun Chen, Yue Wang, Wen-kun Qie, Yu-ping Qi, Bruce R. Wardlaw
Summary: The GSSP for the base of the Capitanian Stage was proposed in 1999 in West Texas, USA, but the official paper and index fossils have not been properly documented. Based on carbon isotope and magnetostratigraphic studies, the base and boundary of the Capitanian Stage have been constrained at 264.28+/- 0.16 Ma.
Article
Geology
Jun Shen, Jiubin Chen, Thomas J. Algeo, Qinglai Feng, Jianxin Yu, Yi-Gang Xu, Guozhen Xu, Yong Lei, Noah J. Planavsky, Shucheng Xie
Summary: The study suggests that regional volcanic activity in the South China craton was influenced by the Siberian Traps large igneous province magmatism, possibly contributing to major biotic and environmental stresses associated with the Permian-Triassic boundary mass extinction, with four distinct mercury enrichment intervals identified. Evidence of strong volcanism in the Tethyan region is found to have started about 2 million years before the latest Permian mass extinction event.
Article
Geography, Physical
Christopher R. Fielding, Tracy D. Frank, Katarina Savatic, Chris Mays, Stephen McLoughlin, Vivi Vajda, Robert S. Nicoll
Summary: This study investigates the upper part of the upper Permian succession in the Bowen Basin of Queensland, NE Australia, and aims to determine the timeline and character of environmental changes leading up to the End-Permian Extinction. The research reveals a series of intermittent stepwise changes, including volcanic activity, cold conditions, and glaciation, in this region. In contrast, the terrestrial ecosystems show remarkable consistency during this period.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Geology
Xu Dai, Dieter Korn, Haijun Song
Summary: Ammonoids suffered a diversity bottleneck during the Permian-Triassic mass extinction and rapidly diversified in the Early Triassic. The survivors of the extinction were mainly smooth and weakly ornamented forms, contrasting with the coarsely ornamented forms dominating before the extinction. The morphological shift from coarsely ornamented to smooth forms during the extinction possibly indicates an ecological turnover of ammonoids.
Article
Geology
Hu Huang, Magdalena H. Huyskens, Qing-Zhu Yin, Peter A. Cawood, Mingcai Hou, Jianghai Yang, Fuhao Xiong, Yuansheng Du, Chenchen Yang
Summary: This study provides new insights into the duration and eruption rates of the Emeishan large igneous province, suggesting its possible role in biotic crises and paleoclimate changes.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Francis O. Dudas, Hua Zhang, Shu-Zhong Shen, Samuel A. Bowring
Summary: This study presents extensive major and trace element data for the Permian-Triassic boundary at Meishan, China, revealing changes in carbonate lithology, siliciclastic input, diagenesis, and redox conditions. The trace element patterns suggest variations in provenance and weathering processes, with anomalous behavior noted for Ba, Zr, and Zn. Rare earth elements are controlled by the siliciclastic fraction, and Ce and Eu anomalies are not reliable indicators of the redox environment at Meishan.
FRONTIERS IN EARTH SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Chao Liu, Tanen Jiang, Yong Yang, Jiao Ma
Summary: This study investigates the strontium, carbon, and oxygen isotopic variations across the end-Permian mass extinction (EPME) and early Triassic recovery using high-resolution proxies in three South China sections. The results reveal the spatial and temporal variations of these isotopes and suggest that oceanic stratification is the main cause of the carbon isotopic negative excursion at the Permian/Triassic boundary.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Tetsuji Onoue, Katsuhito Soda, Yukio Isozaki
Summary: The study investigates the geochemical characteristics of late Permian seafloor rocks, revealing the evolution of oceanic anoxia that occurred before the end-Permian mass extinction event. The appearance of euxinic conditions with hydrogen sulfide may be linked to intensified continental weathering and temperature rise.
FRONTIERS IN EARTH SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Yao-feng Cai, Hua Zhang, Zhuo Feng, Shu-zhong Shen
Summary: During the late Permian period, paleo-wildfires became more frequent and severe in Southwest China as the climate became drier, causing vegetation system regression and eventual vegetation turnover in the terrestrial ecosystems. This shift is hypothesized to have been triggered by volcanism.
FRONTIERS IN EARTH SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Longyi Shao, Fanghui Hua, Juan Wang, Xingkai Ji, Zhiming Yan, Tianchang Zhang, Xuetian Wang, Shimin Ma, Tim Jones, Huinan Lu
Summary: This study examines palynological successions from the late Permian to the Early Triassic in southwestern China and identifies four distinct palynofloral assemblages. The results suggest that the Permian-Triassic mass extinction had a significant impact on terrestrial vegetation in southwestern China. The findings support the hypothesis that the extinction process of terrestrial vegetation was a two-staged and longer-duration event.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Yao-feng Cai, Hua Zhang, Zhuo Feng, Shu-zhong Shen
Summary: During the late Permian period, paleo-wildfires became more frequent and severe in Southwest China as the climate became drier, causing vegetation system regression and eventual vegetation turnover in the terrestrial ecosystems. This shift is hypothesized to have been triggered by volcanism.
FRONTIERS IN EARTH SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Shu-han Zhang, Jun-xuan Fan, Chad A. Morgan, Charles M. Henderson, Shu-zhong Shen
Summary: This study examines the trilobite diversity pattern in the middle-late Cambrian of South China, constructing a high time-resolution species-level richness curve and identifying distinct changes in species diversity at different stages, as well as exploring trilobite evolutionary mechanisms associated with environmental changes and biotic competition.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Jianping Huang, Xiaoyue Liu, Yongsheng He, Shuzhong Shen, Zengqian Hou, Shuguang Li, Changyu Li, Lijie Yao, Jiping Huang
Summary: The oxygen cycle plays a crucial role in the habitability of our planet and Earth system science. Researching the global oxygen cycle provides valuable insights into the evolution of the Earth system, habitability of the planet, and future of human life. However, studies on the oxygen cycle have been conducted separately, leading to limited understanding and incomplete synthesis of its interactions with different spheres of the Earth system.
SCIENCE CHINA-EARTH SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Wen-qian Wang, Joachim A. R. Katchinoff, Claudio Garbelli, Adrian Immenhauser, Quan-feng Zheng, Yi-chun Zhang, Dong-xun Yuan, Yu-kun Shi, Jiuyuan Wang, Noah Planavsky, Shu-zhong Shen
Summary: The Permian Period experienced unprecedented Earth system changes, transitioning from icehouse to greenhouse conditions and facing two biocrises associated with volcanisms. Seawater Sr isotope records can illuminate the Permian Earth system evolution, but face issues such as low resolution and potential diagenetic alteration. New research suggests that changes in hydrothermal input, rather than continental weathering intensity, may have been the primary driver of the observed variations in Permian seawater 87Sr/86Sr ratios.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Quan-feng Zheng, Hua Zhang, Dong-xun Yuan, Yue Wang, Wen-qian Wang, Chang-qun Cao, Shu-zhong Shen
Summary: This study reconstructs the variations in benthic marine oxygen levels from the Late Permian to the Early Triassic in the Shangsi section, China, using high-resolution trace fossil data and other redox-sensitive proxies. The results show the presence of both high-frequency and long-term variations in benthic oxygen levels, as well as an anoxia event during the middle-late Wuchiapingian and a global oxygenation event during the Changhsingian.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Feifei Zhang, Richard G. Stockey, Shuhai Xiao, Shu-zhong Shen, Tais W. Dahl, Guang-Yi Wei, Mengchun Cao, Ziheng Li, Junyao Kang, Ying Cui, Ariel D. Anbar, Noah J. Planavsky
Summary: The Earth's redox evolution is believed to have played a significant role in the evolutionary history of the biosphere. However, the relationship between shifts in marine redox conditions and key biotic events is still debated. This study fills a gap in our understanding of global marine redox evolution during the Tonian Period and provides evidence of extensive shallow marine anoxia.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Feifei Zhang, Jiri Fryda, Mojtaba Fakhraee, Yi-bo Lin, Guang-Yi Wei, Mengchun Cao, Na Li, Jianlin Zhou, Barbora Frydova, Haizhen Wei, Shu-zhong Shen
Summary: The mid-Ludfordian Lau carbon isotope excursion is the largest positive carbon isotope excursion in the Phanerozoic, coinciding with the biodiversity loss of many marine animal clades. The main driver of this excursion has not been determined, but new research suggests that shallow water anoxia is the primary driver rather than enhanced marine productivity.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Qiang Fang, Huaichun Wu, Shu-zhong Shen, Junxuan Fan, Linda A. Hinnov, Dongxun Yuan, Shihong Zhang, Tianshui Yang, Jun Chen, Qiong Wu
Summary: This study investigates the response of tropical climate to the late Paleozoic deglaciation, the Earth's first transition from icehouse to greenhouse. By analyzing deep marine carbonate records in South China, the study reveals the complex linkage between low and high latitudes during this transition. The results show that in the final stage of the Early Permian icehouse, the delivery of moisture from low to high latitudes was reduced, facilitating the development of tropical coal forests. In the greenhouse condition, a rise in atmospheric pCO(2) resulted in continental drying and ocean stagnation. Furthermore, obliquity cycles triggered ice-sheet expansion and increased tropical precipitation during the icehouse condition.
GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Dong-xun Yuan, Yi-chun Zhang, Feng Qiao, Hai-peng Xu, Qi Ju, Shu-zhong Shen
Summary: A late Kungurian fauna including conodonts and fusulines has been reported from the limestone units in the South Qiangtang Block in Tibet, indicating warm conditions during deposition and suggesting the existence of a wide ocean between the South Qiangtang Block and the Lhasa Block during this period.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2022)
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
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Wen-qian Wang, Feifei Zhang, Shu-zhong Shen, Martin Bizzarro, Claudio Garbelli, Quan-feng Zheng, Yi-chun Zhang, Dong-xun Yuan, Yu-kun Shi, Mengchun Cao, Tais W. Dahl
Summary: The redox chemistry change in ancient oceans has had a significant impact on the evolutionary trajectories of animals. Uranium isotopes in marine carbonate sediments have been used to quantify the oxygenation state of the oceans throughout geological history. However, diagenesis processes can introduce uncertainties in these measurements. This study examines the potential of using articulate brachiopod shells as diagenetically resistant materials to accurately record the ancient seawater conditions. Results show that approximately 53% of the shells preserve the primary seawater signals. The study also reveals four episodes of expanding marine anoxia during the Permian, which are temporally correlated with periods of volcanism. The last two anoxic events coincide with or precede the end-Guadalupian and end-Permian mass extinctions, confirming the importance of marine anoxia in driving marine animal extinctions.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Funing Sun, Wenxuan Hu, Jian Cao, Xiaolin Wang, Zhirong Zhang, Jahandar Ramezani, Shuzhong Shen
Summary: This study reports the sustained and intensified microbial methane cycling in Lake Junggar in northwestern China during the Early Permian climate warming, and suggests that the methane emissions from the lake may have played a positive feedback role in the end of the Late Paleozoic Ice Age.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ruoyu Sun, Yi Liu, Jeroen E. E. Sonke, Zhang Feifei, Yaqiu Zhao, Yonggen Zhang, Jiubin Chen, Cong-Qiang Liu, Shuzhong Shen, Ariel D. D. Anbar, Wang Zheng
Summary: According to the evaluation of mercury isotopes from the Meishan Section, China and a global box model, marine photic zone euxinia (PZE) with toxic, sulfide-rich conditions was likely an important kill mechanism and obstacle to recovery during the end-Permian mass extinction (EPME), alongside the dominant influence of volcanism. This model provides further evidence that PZE played a crucial role in both the EPME and the impeded recovery afterward.
COMMUNICATIONS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Shenglin Jiao, Hua Zhang, Yaofeng Cai, Jianbo Chen, Zhuo Feng, Shuzhong Shen
Summary: In this study, high-resolution PAHs in a non-marine P-T transitional sequence from Southwest China were investigated. The consistent distribution patterns of PAHs and the positive correlation between PAH contents in the whole sequence indicate a common source or process. The increase in PAH ratios during the Late Permian suggests high-temperature wildfire events, while the extremely low PAH contents in the Early Triassic indicate a fuel shortage after mass deforestation and a change in vegetation.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Jianbo Chen, Guangyi Sun, Binjian Lu, Rong-yao Ma, Zhuang Xiao, Yao-feng Cai, Hua Zhang, Shu-zhong Shen, Feifei Zhang, Zhuo Feng
Summary: This study presents high-resolution Hg concentration and isotope records of two drill cores, showing significant Hg enrichments in coastal lowlands and background Hg levels in terrestrial uplands. These findings suggest that the Hg enrichments in the coastal lowland were primarily caused by enhanced terrestrial influxes, while the terrestrial upland had minimal influence from terrestrial and/or atmospheric depositions. A comprehensive evaluation of multiple lines of evidence is necessary to establish a robust causal link between volcanic activities and Hg enrichments in sedimentary records.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2023)
