The Permian–Triassic boundary in Antarctica

Abstract

The Permian ended with the largest of known mass extinctions in the history of life. This signal event has been difficult to recognize in Antarctic non-marine rocks, because the boundary with the Triassic is defined by marine fossils at a stratotype section in China. Late Permian leaves (Glossopteris) and roots Vertebraria), and Early Triassic leaves (Dicroidium) and vertebrates (Lystrosaurus) roughly constrain the Permian–Triassic boundary in Antarctica. Here we locate the boundary in Antarctica more precisely using carbon isotope chemostratigraphy and total organic carbon analyses in six measured sections from Allan Hills, Shapeless Mountain, Mount Crean, Portal Mountain, Coalsack Bluff and Graphite Peak. Palaeosols and root traces also are useful for recognizing the Permian–Triassic boundary because there was a complete turnover in terrestrial ecosystems and their soils. A distinctive kind of palaeosol with berthierine nodules, the Dolores pedotype, is restricted to Early Triassic rocks. Late Permian and Middle Triassic root traces are carbonaceous, whereas those of the Early Triassic are replaced by claystone or silica. Antarctic Permian–Triassic sequences are among the most complete known, judging from the fine structure and correlation of carbon isotope anomalies.