Downloaded from specialpapers.gsapubs.org on April 29, 2015 OLD G The Geological Society of America Special Paper 505 2014 OPEN ACCESS Large igneous provinces and mass extinctions: An update David P.G. Bond* Department of Geography, Environment and Earth Science, University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX, UK, and Norwegian Polar Institute, Fram Centre, 9296 Tromsø, Norway Paul B. Wignall School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK ABSTRACT The temporal link between mass extinctions and large igneous provinces is well known. Here, we examine this link by focusing on the potential climatic effects of large igneous province eruptions during several extinction crises that show the best correlation with mass volcanism: the Frasnian-Famennian (Late Devonian), Capi- tanian (Middle Permian), end-Permian, end-Triassic, and Toarcian (Early Jurassic) extinctions. It is clear that there is no direct correlation between total volume of lava and extinction magnitude because there is always suffi cient recovery time between individual eruptions to negate any cumulative effect of successive fl ood basalt erup- tions. Instead, the environmental and climatic damage must be attributed to single- pulse gas effusions. It is notable that the best-constrained examples of death-by- volcanism record the main extinction pulse at the onset of (often explosive) volcanism (e.g., the Capitanian, end-Permian, and end-Triassic examples), suggesting that the rapid injection of vast quantities of volcanic gas (CO2 and SO2) is the trigger for a truly major biotic catastrophe. Warming and marine anoxia feature in many extinc- tion scenarios, indicating that the ability of a large igneous province to induce these proximal killers (from CO2 emissions and thermogenic greenhouse gases) is the single most important factor governing its lethality. Intriguingly, many voluminous large igneous province eruptions, especially those of the Cretaceous oceanic plateaus, are not associated with signifi cant extinction losses. This suggests that the link between the two phenomena may be controlled by a range of factors, including continental confi guration, the latitude, volume, rate, and duration of eruption, its style and set- ting (continental vs. oceanic), the preexisting climate state, and the resilience of the extant biota to change. *[email protected] Bond, D.P.G., and Wignall, P.B., 2014, Large igneous provinces and mass extinctions: An update, in Keller, G., and Kerr, A.C., eds., Volcanism, Impacts, and Mass Extinctions: Causes and Effects: Geological Society of America Special Paper 505, p. 29–55, doi:10.1130/2014.2505(02). For permission to copy, contact edit- [email protected]. © 2014 The Geological Society of America. All rights reserved. Gold Open Access: This chapter is published under the terms of the CC-BY license and is available open access on www.gsapubs.org. 29 Downloaded from specialpapers.gsapubs.org on April 29, 2015 30 Bond and Wignall INTRODUCTION ous effects of massive volcanism, or was the lack of lethality a consequence of other factors? The possibility that volcanism is capable of driving mass The current challenge for earth scientists is to better under- extinctions has long been posited (e.g., Kennett and Watkins, stand the variable environmental effects of large igneous province 1970; Vogt, 1972), and large igneous provinces—the most eruptions and identify the causal mechanism(s) whereby they voluminous manifestation of volcanism on Earth—have been sometimes cause catastrophic extinctions. This paper reviews our the most frequently preferred culprits. Improvements of radio- knowledge of the potential climatic effects of volcanism for sev- isotopic dating in the past two decades have considerably eral crises that show the best correlation with mass volcanism: strengthened this notion because four of the “Big 5” extinction the Frasnian-Famennian Viluy Traps; the Capitanian Emeishan events of the Phanerozoic, as well as every minor crisis since fl ood basalts; the end-Permian Siberian Traps; the end-Triassic the Permian, are shown to coincide with large igneous province Central Atlantic magmatic province; and the Toarcian Karoo and eruptions (Fig. 1; Courtillot, 1999; Wignall, 2001). Only the Ferrar Traps. The celebrated extinction at the end of the Creta- fi rst of the “Big 5,” the end-Ordovician crisis, remains uncorre- ceous is associated with both the mighty Deccan Traps and the lated to a large igneous province culprit, although one has been Chicxulub impact crater, making for a rather special and conten- mooted for this interval (Courtillot and Olson, 2007; Lefebvre tious case study. This event is treated in detail elsewhere in this et al., 2010). volume and is not expanded on here. The volcanism-extinction link is now well documented (e.g., At this stage, it is pertinent to defi ne what is meant by both Rampino and Stothers, 1988; Wignall, 2001, 2007; Courtillot and “large igneous province” and “mass extinction.” The former term Renne, 2003; Kravchinsky, 2012), but temporal coincidence does was introduced by Coffi n and Eldholm (1991), but we follow the not prove a causal link, although the frequency of the association succinct revised defi nition of large igneous provinces of Bryan is suffi ciently high to imply this. Perhaps the strongest criticism and Ernst (2008). The latter authors defi ne large igneous prov- comes from the observation that many large igneous province inces as magmatic provinces with >0.1 × 106 km2 extent, volumes eruptions, especially those of the oceanic plateaus of the Creta- >0.1 × 106 km3, and a maximum eruption duration of <50 m.y. ceous, are not associated with signifi cant extinction losses (Figs. They are characterized by igneous pulse(s) of short duration 1 and 2). Were post-Jurassic biotas more resistant to the deleteri- (~1–5 m.y.), during which a large proportion (>75%) of the total Viluy PDD Skagerrak, Emeishan Siberian CAMP Karoo Parana Deccan Ethiopia CR Vol. of 2 Barguzin/Vitim Traps Ferrar Etendeka Traps Yemen lava NAIP 6 4 (x 10 Kerguelen km3) 6 70 ? 60 OJP 1 50 2, Caribbean, Madagascar OJP 40 30 20 Generic extinction (%) 10 0 D C PTR J KT 400 Ma 300 Ma 200 Ma 100 Ma 0 Ma Figure 1. Generic extinction magnitude through the past 400 m.y. (based on Sepkoski, 1996, 2002) vs. the age and estimated original volume of large igneous provinces (volume estimates based on Courtillot and Renne, 2003; Kravchinsky, 2012). PDD—Pripyat-Dnieper-Donets rift; CAMP—Central Atlantic magmatic province; OJP 1/OJP 2—Ontong Java Plateau phases 1 and 2; NAIP—North Atlantic igneous province; CR—Columbia River Basalt Group. Continental fl ood basalt–volcanic rifted margin provinces (after Bryan and Ernst, 2008) are shown as black bars, while oceanic plateaus are shown as gray bars. Note the apparent correlation between mass extinction events (peaks in generic extinction) and large igneous province emplacement, but no major extinctions associated with the three volumetrically largest episodes of vol- canism in the Cretaceous. This fi gure does not show the possible range of ages for the Viluy Traps (ca. 377–364 Ma). Figure is adapted from Bond et al. (2010a). D—Devonian; C—Carboniferous; P—Permian; Tr—Triassic; J—Jurassic; K—Cretaceous; T—Tertiary. Downloaded from specialpapers.gsapubs.org on April 29, 2015 Large igneous provinces and mass extinctions: An update 31 Meridian 1000 km Viluy 60° N Siberian Columbia North PDD River Atlantic 30° N CAMP Emeishan Ethiopia- CAMP Yemen Deccan Ontong Java Equator CAMP Madagascar 30° S Paranà and Kalkarindji Etendeka Karoo Kerguelen 60° S Figure 2. Map of major large igneous provinces mentioned in the text (adapted from Coffi n and Eldholm, 1994; Bryan and Ernst, 2008; Marzoli et al., 2011). The Ferrar Traps, located in Antarctica, are not shown on this map. Postulated area of the Viluy Traps is very uncertain. The apparently vast distribution of the Siberian Traps refl ects the suggested west- ward extension of volcanics beneath Jurassic and Cretaceous basin fi ll, based on Early Triassic basalts found in boreholes (Westphal et al., 1998; Reichow et al., 2005; Saunders et al., 2005). igneous volume is emplaced (Bryan and Ernst, 2008). The major- were likely a diversity decrease due to failure to originate, rather ity of large igneous provinces fall into two subdivisions, conti- than elevated species loss (e.g., Bambach et al., 2004). Indeed, nental fl ood basalt provinces and oceanic plateaus, with a few different treatments of taxonomic databases have rendered some being a combination of continental fl ood basalts and volcanic interesting results (Table 1). Nevertheless, for now, the Frasnian- rifted margins. A mass extinction records a globally widespread Famennian and end-Triassic events maintain their place at the top and rapid loss of species from numerous environments, and the table of mass extinctions. “Big 5” extinctions of the Phanerozoic are those in which >50% of species disappeared from the fossil record (sensu Raup and EFFECTS OF VOLCANISM ON CLIMATE Sepkoski, 1982; Sepkoski, 1996). The Capitanian event should probably also be included in a revised “Big 6.” It has been pro- Is it realistic to suggest that large igneous province volca- posed that the Frasnian-Famennian and end-Triassic “mass nism can affect global climate to the extent that extinction is inev- extinctions” be demoted to “mass depletions,” since those events itable, even in regions distant from the site of eruptions? Here, TABLE 1.TAXONOMIC-SEVERITY RANKING OF THE 11 LARGEST PHANEROZOIC CRISES SINCE THE ORDOVICIAN* Rank Event %1 Event %2 Event %3 Ecological severity ranking† 1 End-Permian −58 End-Permian −57 End-Permian −83 End-Permian 2 End-Ordovician −49 End-Ordovician −43 End-Triassic −73 End-Cretaceous 3 Capitanian −47 Capitanian −36 End-Ordovician −52 End-Triassic 4 End-Triassic −40 End-Cretaceous −34 End-Devonian −50 Frasnian-Famennian 5 End-Cretaceous −39 End-Triassic −33 End-Cret., Late Dev.