Objective The North China Plate serves as a pivotal region for deciphering the mechanisms underlying the links of volcanism and paleoenvironmental-climatic upheavals around the Permian-Triassic Boundary (PTB). The dramatic environmental perturbations during this period are closely linked to large-scale volcanic eruptions of the Siberian Traps Large Igneous Province (STLIP). These eruptions triggered global warming, extreme chemical weathering events, and mass extinctions, marking a significant turning point in the evolution of the Earth system.
Methods This study investigated the Sunjiagou and Liujiagou formations in the WY-U-01H borehole in the Qinshui Basin, North China Plate. Using the chemical index of alteration (CIA), combined with geochemical tracers such as the nickel (Ni) concentration and Ni/Al ratio, this study compared the chemical weathering intensity and abnormal Ni enrichment in the North China Plate around the PTB. Accordingly, it explored the links of their evolution with the contemporaneous atmospheric CO2 concentrations, volcanism, and mass extinction event.
Results and Conclusions The results reveal that the study area keeps a record of an intensified continental weathering episode around the PTB, aligning with observations from multiple sections in the North China Plate. Ni enrichment anomalies are concentrated near the PTB horizon, marking the STLIP emplacement. It is considered that the STLIP induced climate warming by releasing greenhouse gas, thereby resulting in intensified global continental weathering. Meanwhile, the concurrent terrestrial plant extinctions caused by wildfires destroyed surface ecological barriers and biogeochemical cycles, further intensifying continental weathering. The results of this study provide critical evidence for revealing the paleoclimatic responses and ecological feedback of the North China Plate to the PTB events, deepening the understanding of the global environmental effect of the STLIP volcanism.
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