Department of Earth Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755.
Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 Sep 20;119(38):e2120441119. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2120441119. Epub 2022 Sep 12.
Refinements of the geological timescale driven by the increasing precision and accuracy of radiometric dating have revealed an apparent correlation between large igneous provinces (LIPs) and intervals of Phanerozoic faunal turnover that has been much discussed at a qualitative level. However, the extent to which such correlations are likely to occur by chance has yet to be quantitatively tested, and other kill mechanisms have been suggested for many mass extinctions. Here, we show that the degree of temporal correlation between continental LIPs and faunal turnover in the Phanerozoic is unlikely to occur by chance, suggesting a causal relationship linking extinctions and continental flood basalts. The relationship is stronger for LIPs with higher estimated eruptive rates and for stage boundaries with higher extinction magnitudes. This suggests LIP magma degassing as a primary kill mechanism for mass extinctions and other intervals of faunal turnover, which may be related to [Formula: see text], Cl, and F release. Our results suggest continental LIPs as a major, direct driver of extinctions throughout the Phanerozoic.
放射性测年精度和准确度的提高推动了地质年代学的细化，这揭示了大火成岩省（LIP）与显生宙动物群更替之间存在明显的相关性，这在定性层面上已经进行了广泛讨论。然而，这种相关性是否可能是偶然发生的，尚未进行定量检验，而且对于许多大灭绝事件，已经提出了其他灭绝机制。在这里，我们表明，在显生宙期间，大陆上火山岩省与动物群更替之间的时间相关性不太可能是偶然发生的，这表明灭绝事件与大陆溢流玄武岩之间存在因果关系。对于喷发率估计较高的 LIP 和灭绝幅度较高的阶边界，相关性更强。这表明 LIP 岩浆脱气是大灭绝事件和其他动物群更替的主要杀伤机制，这可能与[公式：见正文]、Cl 和 F 的释放有关。我们的结果表明，大陆上火山岩省是整个显生宙灭绝事件的主要直接驱动因素。
