Effect of Miocene basaltic volcanism in Shanwang (Shandong Province, China) on environmental changes

Miocene(16―10 Ma) basalts,together with significantly well-preserved fossils(including animal and plant fossils) in the contemporaneously tephra-rich Maar sediments,are located in Shanwang volcanic region,Shandong Province,China.Distribution area of the basaltic eruption products is about 240 km2.Detailed field observations indicate that most of basaltic rocks are fissure eruptive products and some are central eruptives constrained by linear faults.The well-preserved fossils in the lacustrine deposits have been considered to be a result of mass mortalities.Based on physically volcanologic modeling results,eruption column of the basaltic fissure activities in the Shanwang volcanic region is estimated to have entered the stratosphere.Petrographic observations indicate that the basalts have porphyritic textures with phenocrysts of olivine,pyroxene,plagioclase feldspar and alkali feldspar setting in groundmass of plagioclase feldspar,alkali feldspar,quartz,apatite and glass.Based on observations of tephra,tuff and tuffites collected in the Maar sediments of the Shanwang area,we determined major element oxide concentrations and volatile composition of melt inclusions in phenocrysts and matrix glasses by electron microprobe analysis.Volatile(including S,Cl,F and H2O) concentrations erupted into the stratosphere were estimated by comparing pre-and post-eruptive volatile concentrations.Our determination results show that contents of S,Cl,F and H2O emitted into the stratosphere were 0.18%― 0.24%,0.03%―0.05%,0.03%―0.05% and 0.4%―0.6%,respectively,which was characterized by high-S contents erupted.Amounts of volatiles emitted in the Shanwang volcanic region are much higher than those in eruptions which had a substantial effect on climate and environment.According to the com-positions and amounts of the volatiles erupted from the Miocene basaltic volcanism in Shanwang,we propose a hypothesis that volatile-rich basaltic volcanism could result in the mass mortalities by in-jecting volatiles(e.g.,SO2,H2S,HCl,HF and H2O) into the stratosphere that would have triggered abrupt environmental changes(including formation of acid rain,temperature decline,ozone depletion,etc.) and altered lake chemistry,and subsequently volcanic ash fall buried and covered the dead animals and plants,forming well-preserved fossils in Shanwang Maar sediments.