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End-Permian extinction amplified by plume-induced release of recycled lithospheric volatiles

An Author Correction to this article was published on 02 July 2019

An Author Correction to this article was published on 12 October 2018

This article has been updated

Abstract

Magmatic volatile release to the atmosphere can lead to climatic changes and substantial environmental degradation including the production of acid rain, ocean acidification and ozone depletion, potentially resulting in the collapse of the biosphere. The largest recorded mass extinction in Earth’s history occurred at the end of the Permian, coinciding with the emplacement of the Siberian large igneous province, suggesting that large-scale magmatism is a key driver of global environmental change. However, the source and nature of volatiles in the Siberian large igneous province remain contentious. Here we present halogen compositions of sub-continental lithospheric mantle xenoliths emplaced before and after the eruption of the Siberian flood basalts. We show that the Siberian lithosphere is massively enriched in halogens from the infiltration of subducted seawater-derived volatiles and that a considerable amount (up to 70%) of lithospheric halogens are assimilated into the plume and released to the atmosphere during emplacement. Plume–lithosphere interaction is therefore a key process controlling the volatile content of large igneous provinces and thus the extent of environmental crises, leading to mass extinctions during their emplacement.

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Fig. 1: Halogen and K abundances in Udachnaya and Obnazhennaya xenoliths.
Fig. 2: Halogen composition of the Siberian SCLM.
Fig. 3: Helium isotopes and halogen systematics.
Fig. 4: Schematic of plume–lithosphere interaction within the Siberian craton.

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Change history

  • 02 July 2019

    An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

  • 12 October 2018

    In the version of this Article originally published, refs 28–31 were listed in the wrong order, resulting in the citations in the main text being incorrect. The citations and reference list have now been updated in the online versions; the corrected order is shown below.

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Acknowledgements

This work is dedicated to L.A.T, who passed away in 2017. L.A.T. devoted his life to science and teaching, serving as an excellent mentor to P.H.B. during his time at University of Tennessee. This work was financially supported though a NERC studentship NE/J500057/1 (to M.W.B.) and NERC (NE/M000427/1) and ERC (ERC-267692 NOBLE) grants to C.J.B. and R.B. P.H.B. was funded by an NSF fellowship (EAR-114455) to investigate the geochemical signatures in these samples.

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M.W.B., P.H.B. and R.B. conceived the project and prepared the initial manuscript. L.A.T. provided the samples and M.W.B. and R.B. performed the analysis. All authors contributed to data interpretation and preparation of the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Michael W. Broadley.

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Supplementary information on samples, geological background and calculations; Supplementary Figures 1–4; Supplementary Tables 1–4.

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Broadley, M.W., Barry, P.H., Ballentine, C.J. et al. End-Permian extinction amplified by plume-induced release of recycled lithospheric volatiles. Nature Geosci 11, 682–687 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-018-0215-4

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