Determination of Fullerenes (C60/C70) from the Permian-Triassic Boundary in the Meishan Section of South China

Fullerenes (C 60 /C 70 ), clays and rocks near the Permian-Triassic (P/T) boundary in the Meishan section of South China are explored by means of comprehensive analytical techniques, including ultrasonic extraction with column purification, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of- flight mass spectrometry (MALDI TOF MS). The study confirms the existence of fullerenes toward the P/T event boundary and their absence in clays and limestones beyond the boundary. In particular, the white clay, known as the event boundary, contains fullerenes of 0.33 ppb, while the red material, as the first lamina fill of goethite and gypsum on the base of the white clay, contains fullerenes of 1.23 ppb, and the last lamina of 2.50 ppb. Significantly, distinct enrichment of fullerenes is coincident with the disappearance of fossil records of marine species (94%) just at the base of the white clay, implying that geological fullerenes would be one of temporal remnants led by the P/T catastrophic event. This work strongly supports that fullerenes would be one of significant records of the P/T catastrophic event but their origin remains to be studied further.

A Review on the Global Stratotype Section and Point of the Permian-Triassic Boundary

This paper provides a synthetic review of researches on Meishan Section D, the Global Stratotype Section and Point of the Permian-Triassic Boundary （PTB）. The history of research, geographic and geological setting of the section are briefly introduced. Changhsingian to ＂Griesbachian＂ conodont and ammonoid zonations, the most perfect Permo-Triassic zonations over the world, are presented, with a short discussion on the age of Otoceras, The Changhsingian to ＂Griesbachian＂ strata are subdivided into three 3rd order sequences, and the sedimentary structure of each sequence is indicated. The paper presents a correlation of the Changhsingian to ＂Griesbachian＂ magneetostratigraphy of the Meishan section with the general scale, and informed the negation of a short magnetic reversal at the PTB suggested by Zhu and Liu （1999）. Recent developments of chemostratigraphy of δ^13C and δ^34S are introduced, especially the discovery of more than one negative δ^13C excursions across the PTB. Two important molecular researches reveal the profound changes at the base of eco-system, the microbial catastrophy, and the euxinic conditions in the photic zone during the Permian-Triassic superanoxic event. The paper reports the changes in dating the age of PTB since 2001. According to recent achievements, the age of volcanogenic claybed 25, 14 cm below the PTB, is now set at 252.4±0.3 Ma. A discussion on the eventostratigraphy concludes that, although there is a major event episode at beds 25-26, the events across the PTB at Meishan are multi-episodic and commenced prior to the Event Beds 25-26, thus the possibility that the mass extinction was mainly induced by an exterrestrial impact is largely excluded.

The relationship between dolomite textures and their formation temperature: a case study from the Permian-Triassic of the Sichuan Basin and the Lower Paleozoic of the Tarim Basin

Study of dolomite texture can contribute to understanding the process of dolomitization.This research reports textures and homogenization temperatures of dolomites from the Permian-Triassic strata in the Sichuan Basin and the Lower Paleozoic strata in the Tarim Basin,which provided insights into relationships between dolomite textures and their formation temperatures.Our results are summarized as follows：1） dolomites with well-preserved texture indicate low dolomitization temperature.However,in certain diagenetic environments,the hydrothermal dolomitization may completely or partially preserve the original texture of dolomites.2） The formation temperatures of non-planar dolomites are always higher than those of planar dolomites.3） The formation temperatures of dolomite cements are generally higher than those of replacive dolomites.4） Although the formation temperatures of saddle dolomite cements have a wide range,they show higher values than those of the planar subhedral to euhedral dolomite cements.Thus,saddle dolomites could generally be an indicator of high precipitation temperature.5） The fluid Mg/Ca ratio is another element controlling dolomite morphology.Micritic dolomites,which precipitate from hypersaline fluids with a high Mg/Ca ratio in a subaerial environment could also have features of non-planar anhedral crystal shape because of rapid nucleation and crystallization during dolomitization.

Sulfur Isotopes of Framboidal Pyrite in the Permian-Triassic Boundary Clay at Meishan Section

Pyrite framboids were found in the Permian-Triassic boundary at Meishan Section,while their sulfur isotopes were determined.The majority of framboids is less than 5μm in diameter,with some large-sized framboids.Also,euhedral gypsums were observed in the boundary clay.The authors suppose that most of the pyrite framboids formed just below the redox boundary and stopped growing after entering the lower water column.The result indicates that it was probably lower dysoxia condition in the temporal ocean.Moreover,the authors also presume that some pyrite was oxidated to sulfates accompanying the fluctuation of redox condition,which would probably be the origin of the negative sulfur isotopes of gypsum and CAS reported before.In addition,sulfur isotope of framboidal pyrite suggests that sulfur is originated from bacterial sulfate reduction in anoxic condition.Therefore, this study confirms that the ocean was widely anoxic during the Permian-Triassic transitional period. However,the redox condition in temporal ocean was probably not stable,with short-term fluctuations.

Volcanism at the Permian-Triassic Boundary in South China and Its Effects on Mass Extinction

This paper discusses the clayrocks widespread at the Permian-Triassic boundary, which are mostly of volcanic origin. Volcanogenetic textures, structures and minerals such as high-temperature quartz are found in clayrocks at the Permian-Triassic boundary in many places. Thousands of microspherules have been collected from the Boundary clayrocks, many of which exhibit the typical features of the process from melting to cooling and solidification. indicating that they were formed by volcanic eruption or extraterrestrial impact. Volcanic effects on the Permian-Triassic mass extinction may be reflected in conodonts, algae and ammonoids. The Boundary clayrocks are found in many Permian-Triassic sections along the coast of Tethys. Their orighin remains to be studied.

Distribution and Geochemical Implication of Aromatic Hydrocarbons across the Meishan Permian-Triassic Boundary

Aromatic compounds extracted from sedimentary rocks can reflect environmental conditions, organic sources and maturity. The aromatics, identified in association with mass extinction in particular, would provide a signature assisting our understanding of the causes of the biotic crisis. Aromatic hydrocarbons were fractionated from the total lipid extracts of 37 samples taken from the PermianTriassic boundary （beds 23 to 34） of section B at Meishan （煤山）, Zhejiang （浙江） Province in South China. These aromatics were analyzed by using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry （GC-MS）. Main compounds identified include naphthalene, phenanthrenes, fluorene, dibenzothiophene, dibenzofuran, fluoranthene, pyrene and some of their methyl homologues. The indices of methyl phenanthrene distribution fraction indicate the comparable maturity （within the oil window, 0.7%-1.0% of the mean vitfinite reflectance） of the organic matter throughout the whole profile analyzed. The ratio of dibenzothiophene to phenanthrene （DBT/PHN） varies generally at a comparable pace with lithology. Significantly, a gradual decrease of this ratio was observed within bed 24 limestone, which is probably due to the variation of sedimentary environment. This change is in line with the drop in the carbon isotope composition of carbonate, the loss of the Changhsingian reef ecosystem, and the decrease of cyanobacteria abundance within the bacteria population. The coincidence of these records suggests a close relation between the biotic crisis and marine environmental conditions, and these records clearly show the onset of the biotic crisis prior to event bed 25.

Occurrence of Organic Matter in Calcimicrobialites across Permian-Triassic Boundary in Huayingshan Region,Sichuan,South China

Calcimicrobialites across the Permian-Triassic boundary in Huayingshan （华蓥山） region were investigated using the fluorescence microscopic measurements to understand the occurrence of organic matter. The microbialites are composed of micrite matrix and coarse spar cement. Abundant rhombic or magnetic needle-like carbonate minerals were observed adrift within the cement. The fluorescence microscopic measurement indicates the micrite matrix in microbialites shows the most abundant organic matter, with the rhombic or magnetic needle-like carbonate minerals and coarse spar cement coming to the 2nd and the 3rd, respectively. Organic matter is mainly preserved in the space between the grains of the micrite minerals but almost evenly distributed in the rhombic or magnetic needle-like carbonate minerals. As one of the common diagenesis types, dolomitization is observed to occur in the microbialites in Huayingshan. However, the carbonate cement in microbialites still has high content of element Sr as shown by the microprobe analysis, reflecting that the dolomitization might have happened in a restricted environment. Observation under the fluorescence microscope shows that dolomitization just led to the redistribution of organic matter in the grain space of dolomite minerals, inferring that the diagenesis has a slight effect on the preservation, and thus on the content of organic matter in the microbialites.

Ammonoid Succession of Setorym River (Verkhoyansk Area) and Problem of Permian-Triassic Boundary in Boreal Realm

The presence of a single Otoceras species ( O. boreale ), morphologically very variable, at the base of the Nekuchan Formation in Verkhoyansk, we believe, is to be obvious. Some morphological evidence leaves no doubt that two described morphs of O. boreale are a strictly corresponding sexual dimorphic pair. It is very likely that Kummel's idea that Canadian O. concavum Tozer is an invalid species is truthful, considering the range of variability seen in larger Siberian and Himalayan Otoceras fauna. Just above the upper Tatarian Imtachan Formation, the six stages of ammonoid succession can be recognized within the lower part of the Nekuchan Formation in the Setorym River Section: (a) Otoceras boreale ; (b) Otoceras boreale-Tompophiceras pascoei ; (c) Otoceras boreale-Tompophiceras pascoei- Aldanoceras ; (d) Tompophiceras pascoei-Otoceras boreale-Aldanoceras ; (e) Tompophiceras morpheous-T. pascoei-Aldanoceras ; (f) Tompophiceras morpheous-T. pascoei-Wordieoceras domokhotovi-Ophiceras transitorium; (g) Tompophiceras morpheous-T. pascoei, corresponding to the Otoceras boreale and Tompophiceras morpheous zones. In spite of the domination of Otocerataceae or Xenodiscaceae in both of these zones and the presence of some Permian type conodonts in the lower part of the Otoceras boreale Zone, they seem to be early Induan in age on the basis of the following arguments: (1) in contrast to the underlying regressive type sediments of the Upper Tatarian Imtachan Formation, both the Otoceras boreale and the Tompophiceras morpheous zones of the lowermost part of the Nekuchan Formation correspond to the single transgressive cycle; (2) typical early Induan ammonoids ( Ophiceras and Wordieoceras ) have been recognized in the Tompophiceras morpheous zone; (3) all described ammonoid succession stages (a-g) are characterized by very gradual changes and therefore correspond to the different parts of the single zone or to the different zones of the same stage, but not to the different systems (Permian and Triassic); (4) elsewhere in the Boreal realm (Arctic Canada), the conodont index species for the base of the Triassic, Hindeodus parvus , has been reported from the Otoceras boreale Zone. A new scheme of the phylogeny for the Otocerataceae and its Induan Olenekian offspring (Araxceratidae- Otoceratidae- Vavilovitidae n.fam.-Proptychitidae-Arctoceratidae) and Xenodiscaceae is offered.

Research on Genesis of Pyrite near the Permian-Triassic Boundary in Meishan,Zhejiang,China

The content and crystal forms of pyrite and sulfur isotope composition of pyrite sulfur as well as its vertical distribution near the Permian-Triassic （P/T） boundary in the Meishan section, Changxing county, Zhejiang province, China were studied using geological, petrological, mineralogical and geochemical methods （techniques）. The result showed that the genesis of abundant pyrites in bed 24e2 at the uppermost part of the Changxing Formation in the Me- ishan section may be related to volcanic activity. In bed 24e2 of the Meishan section, pyrite has its highest content of 1.84% and the sulfur isotope composition has the highest 834S value at ＋2.2%0 which is very similar to that of the average value of volcanic gas, There are some volcanic products such as β-quartz, siliceous cylinders and siliceous spherules which coexisted with pyrites in beds 24e2 and 24f. It can be concluded that a large quantity of volcanic ash fell into the South China Sea and was incorporated into marine sediments during the formation of limestone at the uppermost part of the Changxing Formation. The volcanic eruption with massive amounts of H2S and SO2 gas at the end of the Permian period resulted in the enrichment of HES in the South China Sea areas, The reaction of H2S with reactive iron minerals formed the mass of abundant pyrites.

Ostracodes(Crustacea) Witnesses of Paleoenvironmental Changes During Permian-Triassic Boundary Events in South China and Turkey

The transition between Permian and Triassic(252.4 Ma) is marked by the most devastating extinction the biosphere ever went through.Although its cause stays unclear,it is admitted that this mass extinction originated in the conjunction of several global events: tectonic(Pangaea closing),volcanic(Siberian traps), magnetic(reversal of superchron),climatic(end of Permian glaciation) and eustatic(tecto-and ther-

Paleoenvironments and geochemistry across a continuous Permian-Triassic boundary section at Bukk Mountains,Hungary

The Bálvány North Permian-Triassic boundary sediments were deposited on a carbonate platform in the tropical part of the western Paleo Tethys ocean.The overall elemental geochemistry of the detailed two-metre-thick section across the boundary that we studied shows that the clastic content of the sediments came from dominantly silica-rich continental sources though with some more silica-poor inputs in the uppermost Permian and lowest Triassic limestones as shown by Ni/Al and Nb/Ta ratios.These inputs bracket,but do not coincide with,the main extinctions and associated C,O and S changes.Increased aridity at the Permian-Triassic boundary with increased wind abrasion of suitable Ti-bearing heavy minerals accounts for both the high Ti/Al and Ti/Zr ratios.Various geochemical redox proxies suggest mainly oxic depositional conditions,with episodes of anoxia,but with little systematic variation across the Permian-Triassic extinction boundary.The lack of consistent element geochemical changes across the Permian-Triassic boundary occur not only in adjacent shallower-water marine sections,and in other marine sections along the SW Tethys margin such as the Salt Range sections in Pakistan,but also in deeper shelf and oceanic sections,and in non-marine African and European continental sediments.In the absence of significant changes in physical environments,chemical changes in the atmosphere and oceans,reflected in various isotopic changes,drove the Permian-Triassic extinctions.

REE Geochemical Study of the Permian-Triassic Marine Sedimentary Environment in Guizhou Province

This paper deals with the REE geochemical characteristics of Permian\|Triassic marine carbonate rocks in Guizhou Province. It is found that there are two broad categories of stratigraphic units in the region studied in accordance with their ∑REE contents and REE distribution patterns: one is characterized by LREE enrichment and slight Ce depletion, with the REE distribution patterns similar to those of North American shales, and the other features relative HREE enrichment and relatively remarkable Ce depletion, with the REE distribution patterns close to those of pelagic sediments. In terms of their different ∑REE contents, five types of stratigraphic units can be distinguished. Incorporation of detrital minerals, REE complexing capability, oxidation\|reduction conditions of the media are the main factors affecting the REE composition and REE distribution patterns of marine carbonate rocks in the region studied. In the light of REE geochemical characteristics of carbonate rocks, coupled with sedimentary facies analysis , this paper discusses the characteristics of the Permian\|Triassic marine sedimentary environment in Guizhou Province and its evolutional rules.

Study on a Terrestrial Permian-Triassic Boundary Section-Zhejue Section, Weining County, Guizhou Province, China

The Zhejue Section is an excellent terrestrial Permian Triassic boundary (TPTB) section not only for its convenient accessibility and good outcrop, but also for its abundant fossils. In addition, there are two claystone beds that were formed by events across the Permian Triassic boundary (PTB) at this section. The claystones provide a bridge for high resolution correlation between marine and terrestrial PTBs. Another advantage is that the PTB at the Zhejue Section can be correlated with that of littoral and neritic facies by tracing westwards. Synthesized stratigraphic studies, including biostratigraphy, eventostratigraphy (susceptibilities and carbon isotopes across the TPTB, and microspherules found in the boundary claystones) and sequence stratigraphy, are carried out at this section.

Analysis of platinum-group elements in drill core samples from the Meishan Permian-Triassic boundary section, China

There is a long-standing controversy of what triggered the extinction at the Permian-Triassic boundary, the most severe mass extinction in the geologic record, including flood basaltic volcanism and/or bolide impact hypothesis. In order to clarify various pieces of evidence for the mass extinction event at the Permian-Triassic boundary, some researchers from some laboratories throughout the world have made a comprehensive study on a group of samples from the Meishan area of China. Some fresh core samples from the Permian-Triassic boundary in the Meishan area were analyzed in this study. The results showed that there is no Ir anomaly. Moreover, the PGEs patterns of those samples show obvious differentiation characteristics, that is different from the case encountered in meteorites. So no evidence supports the hypothesis of extraterrestrial impact. In contrast, the PGEs patterns are similar to those of Siberian and Emeishan basalts, which indicates that those PGEs are derived mainly from the basalts, lending a support to the correlation between mass extinction at the Permian-Triassic boundary and flood basaltic volcanism. This study has also confirmed the results for samples from section C prior to the analysis of the samples.

Some Evidence for a Possible Extraterrestrial Event at/near Permian-Triassic Boundary

A selection of evidence, including a carbon isotopic excursion, iridium anomaly, fullerenes (C 60 and C 70 ) with trapped noble gases, microspherules and shocked quartz, is discussed in this paper. All the evidence in hand favors the hypothesis that the PTB event was probably related to an extraterrestrial cause, and the impact would lead to great physical change, including large volcanic eruptions on the earth's surface. The ET markers for the CTB event could be considered only as an example, and cannot be taken as a unique standard of an ET event.

Alkane Biomarkers in Permian-Triassic Boundary Strata at Meishan Section, Changxing, Zhejiang Province

Meishan Section D in Changxing County, Zhejiang Province, China has been selected as the global stratotype of the Permian Triassic boundary and various studies have been done at the boundary, but the gas chromatographic mass spectrographic analysis of alkane biomarkers has not been investigated. This paper presents the results of a study of the biomarkers analyzed in a series of samples across the Permian Triassic boundary at both Meishan Section A and Section D. The results show that the overall concentration of alkane biomarkers in the Permian Triassic boundary strata is high in Bed 26 while it is low in Bed 27. A variety of biomarker parameters demonstrate that the main sources of organic matter in the sediment are algae and bacteria and that the depositional environment varied from weakly oxidizing to reducing during the studied interval.

Age and General Characteristics of the Calimicrobialite near the Permian-Triassic Boundary in Chongyang, Hubei Province

The calimicrobialites of Chongyang （崇阳）, Hubei （湖北） Province, occur above the mass extinction line in the Late Permian reef facies. Below the boundary are the sponge reef limestone, crinoid limestone and algae-foraminifer bioclastic limestone of the Changxing （长兴） Formation. The calimicrobialites are generally composed of mid-coarse grains and microlite calcite with a structure of ＂graniphylc fabric＂ and stromatolite. The fossils discovered in the calimicrobialites include globular cyanobacteria, ostracods, micro-gastropods, bivalves, fish teeth and some micro-problematical fossils. Conodont fossils of Hindeodus parvus, H. typicalis and H. latidentatus were also found in the calimicrobialites. According to the conodonts, the calimicrobialites spanned the latest Permian and earliest Triassic in the Chongyang Section. The upper part above the first occurrence of Hindeodus parvus should be attributed to the earliest Triassic, and the lower part to the Changhsingian. The sedimentary structure, fossil composition and conodont zonation of the Chongyang calimicrobialites can be well correlated with the calimicrobialites found in other areas of South China.

A Proposed Area for Study of Accessory Section and Point of Terrestrial Permian-Triassic Boundary

After the establishment of the global stratotype section and point (GSSP) of the Permian Triassic boundary (PTB), the definition of the accessory section and point (ASP) of the terrestrial Permian Triassic boundary (TPTB) is now on the agenda. However, all good TPTB sections so far known have the following shortcomings: (1) the exact TPTB horizon is difficult to define paleontologically with high resolution, and (2) accurate correlation between marine and terrestrial PTBs is hard to attain. In order to enhance the understanding of the nature of the global life crisis in both the marine and terrestrial environments across the Paleozoic Mesozoic transition, these shortcomings need to be addressed. In western Guizhou and eastern Yunnan, Southwest China, some fossiliferous PTB sections which include marine, paralic and terrestrial are well developed, allowing bed to bed correlation of the PTB sequences. Fortunately, the marine PTB sequence in this area is almost the same as found at the Meishan Section, where the GSSP of the PTB is located, which may provide a reliable auxiliary marker for high resolution demarcation of the TPTB. These features found in western Guizhou and eastern Yunnan make this area a good place to study the ASP of the TPTB, so we propose to study the ASP of the TPTB in this area.

Analyses of Sequence Stratigraphy and Environments across Permian-Triassic Boundary in Liaotian, Northwestern Jiangxi Province

Based on the study of lithology, sedimentology and paleontology at the Permian Triassic boundary in Liaotian, Northwestern Jiangxi Province, the sequence stratigraphy and depositional environments across the boundary are reconstructed. The top part of the Upper Permian Changxing Formation is composed of very thick bedded light colored dolomitic limestone formed in high deposition rate on carbonate ramp, which indacates a transgression systems tract (TST). The Lower Triassic Qinglong Formation shows continuous deposition with the underlying Upper Permian. The lower member of Qinglong Formation consists of calcareous shale, shelly limestome and dolomitic limestone with abundant bivalves ( Claraia sp.)and trace fossils ( Chondrites ). The calcareous shale at the bottom of Lower Triassic indicates a calm deep water environment to form the condensed section (CS). The shelly limestome and dolomitic limestone with shell fossils, intraclast, algal ooide show clean but turbulent environment of carbonate ramp, which produce the deposition of highstand systems tract (TST).