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Mercury evidence from the Sino-Korean block for Emeishan volcanism during the Capitanian mass extinction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 August 2018

HYOSANG KWON ,
MUN GI KIM  and
YONG IL LEE
HYOSANG KWON
Affiliation:
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
MUN GI KIM
Affiliation:
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
YONG IL LEE*
Affiliation:
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
*
*Author for correspondence: lee2602@plaza.snu.ac.kr
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Abstract

A prominent large negative δ13Corg excursion and a coeval notable spike in mercury (Hg)/total organic carbon ratio are observed in the middle–upper Permian Gohan Formation in central Korea, located in the eastern Sino-Korean block (SKB), which may represent the Capitanian mass extinction event. The SKB was separated from the South China block by the eastern Palaeo-Tethys Ocean. This finding from the SKB supports the widespread Hg loading to the environment emitted from the Emeishan volcanic eruptions in SW China. This study demonstrates that the Hg cycle was globally perturbed in association with global carbon cycle perturbation that occurred during the Capitanian Extinction.

Keywords

Capitanian extinctionEmeishan volcanismGohan FormationSino-Korean block
Type
Rapid Communication
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 156 , Issue 6 , June 2019 , pp. 1105 - 1110
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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