| Title | Field evidence for coal combustion links the 252 Ma Siberian Traps with global carbon disruption |
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| Author | Elkins-Tanton, L T; Grasby, S E ; Black, B A; Veselovskiy, R V; Ardakani, O H; Goodarzi, F |
| Source | Geology vol. 48, no. 10, 2020 p. 986-991, https://doi.org/10.1130/G47365.1  Open Access |
| Image |  |
| Year | 2020 |
| Alt Series | Natural Resources Canada, Contribution Series 20190638 |
| Publisher | Geological Society of America |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper; on-line; digital |
| File format | pdf; html |
| Area | Russian Federation |
| Lat/Long WENS | 78.0000 126.0000 73.0000 50.0000 |
| Subjects | environmental geology; geochemistry; Nature and Environment; Science and Technology; magmatism; lava flows; coal; carbon geochemistry; atmospheric geochemistry; paleoenvironment; extinctions, biotic;
Siberian Traps; Permian-Triassic Extinction; Phanerozoic; Mesozoic; Triassic; Paleozoic; Permian |
| Illustrations | location maps; geoscientific sketch maps; lithologic sections; tables; photographs; photomicrographs |
| Program | GEM2: Geo-mapping for Energy and Minerals Western Arctic, High Arctic LIP |
| Released | 2020 06 12 |
| Abstract | The Permian-Triassic extinction was the most severe in Earth history. The Siberian Traps eruptions are strongly implicated in the global atmospheric changes that likely drove the extinction. A sharp
negative carbon isotope excursion coincides within geochronological uncertainty with the oldest dated rocks from the Norilsk section of the Siberian flood basalts. We focused on the voluminous volcaniclastic rocks of the Siberian Traps, relatively
unstudied as potential carriers of carbon-bearing gases. Over six field seasons we collected rocks from across the Siberian platform, and we show here the first direct evidence that the earliest eruptions in the southern part of the province burned
large volumes of a combination of vegetation and coal. We demonstrate that the volume and composition of organic matter interacting with magmas may explain the global carbon isotope signal and may have significantly driven the extinction. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
Coal combustion by lavas extruded from the Siberian Traps 252 million years ago are thought to have contributed to atmospheric CO2 emissions and rapid
global warming at that time - causing the worst mass extinction in Earth history. Previous evidence for this was found by GSC scientists as the occurrence of coal ash in shale rocks in the Canadian Arctic. Now coal combustion has been confirmed by
discovery of burnt coal in the actual rocks formed by the volcanoes lava. These results confirm the dramatic impact that coal combustion can have on global environments and ecosystems. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 322174 |
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