Examination of hypotheses for the Permo-Triassic boundary extinction by carbon cycle modeling

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Robert A Berner

Abstract

The biological extinction that occurred at the Permian-Triassic boundary represents the most extensive loss of species of any known event of the past 550 million years. There have been a wide variety of explanations offered for this extinction. In the present paper, a number of the more popular recent hypotheses are evaluated in terms of predictions that they make, or that they imply, concerning the global carbon cycle. For this purpose, a mass balance model is used that calculates atmospheric CO2 and oceanic delta13C as a function of time. Hypotheses considered include: (i) the release of massive amounts of CO2 from the ocean to the atmosphere resulting in mass poisoning; (ii) the release of large amounts of CO2 from volcanic degassing; (iii) the release of methane stored in methane hydrates; (iv) the decomposition and oxidation of dead organisms to CO2 after sudden mass mortality; and (v) the long-term reorganization of the global carbon cycle. The modeling indicates that measured short-term changes in delta13C at the boundary are best explained by methane release with mass mortality and volcanic degassing contributing in secondary roles. None of the processes result in excessively high levels of atmospheric CO2 if they occur...Continue Reading

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Citations

Sep 2, 2009·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Steven M Stanley
Apr 28, 2010·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Jonathan L PayneJiayong Wei
Nov 3, 2010·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Steven M Stanley
Nov 27, 2008·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Michael J RaupachJohann-Wolfgang Wägele
May 22, 2007·Philosophical Transactions. Series A, Mathematical, Physical, and Engineering Sciences·David J BeerlingJohn A Pyle
Apr 8, 2014·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Daniel H RothmanRoger E Summons
Aug 20, 2014·Nature Communications·Amanda M Oehlert, Peter K Swart
Apr 11, 2015·Science·M O ClarksonE T Tipper
Mar 2, 2013·Journal of Anatomy·Tatsuya Hirasawa, Shigeru Kuratani
May 28, 2015·Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews. Systems Biology and Medicine·J S Torday
Mar 4, 2011·Nature·Anthony D BarnoskyElizabeth A Ferrer
Mar 11, 2003·Philosophical Transactions. Series A, Mathematical, Physical, and Engineering Sciences·Rosalind V White
Sep 17, 2002·Science·Daniel Dorritie
Apr 16, 2005·Science·Raymond B Huey, Peter D Ward

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