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Middle Phanerozoic mass extinctions and a tribute to the work of Professor Tony Hallam

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 June 2015

PAUL B. WIGNALL  and
BAS VAN DE SCHOOTBRUGGE
PAUL B. WIGNALL*
Affiliation:
School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
BAS VAN DE SCHOOTBRUGGE
Affiliation:
Institute of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Budapestlaan 4, 3584CD, The Netherlands
*
†Author for correspondence: [email protected]
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Abstract

Tony Hallam's contributions to mass extinction studies span more than 50 years and this thematic issue provides an opportunity to pay tribute to the many pioneering contributions he has made to this field. Early work (1961) on the Jurassic in Europe revealed a link, during the Toarcian Stage, between extinction and the spread of anoxic waters during transgression – the first time such a common leitmotif had been identified. He also identified substantial sea-level changes during other mass extinction intervals with either regression (end-Triassic) or early transgression (end-Permian) coinciding with the extinction phases. Hallam's (1981) study on bivalves was also the first to elevate the status of the end-Triassic crisis and place it amongst true mass extinctions, changing previous perceptions that it was a part of a protracted period of turnover, although debates on the duration of this crisis continue (Hallam, 2002). Conflicting views on the nature of recovery from mass extinctions have also developed, especially for the aftermath of the end-Permian mass extinction. These discussions can be traced to Hallam's seminal 1991 paper that noted the considerable delay in benthic recovery during Early Triassic time and attributed it to the persistence of the harmful, high-stress conditions responsible for the extinction itself. This idea now forms the cornerstone of one of the more favoured explanations for this ultra-low diversity interval.

Keywords

mass extinctionHallamanoxiasea level
Type
Original Articles
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 153 , Special Issue 2: Mass Extinctions , March 2016 , pp. 195 - 200
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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