Joshua H.F.L. Davies

End-Triassic mass extinction started by intrusive CAMP activity

The end-Triassic extinction is one of the Phanerozoics largest mass extinctions. This extinction is typically attributed to climate change associated with degassing of basalt flows from the central Atlantic magmatic province (CAMP). However, recent work suggests that the earliest known CAMP basalts occur above the extinction horizon and that climatic and biotic changes began before the earliest known CAMP eruptions. Here we present new high-precision U-Pb ages from CAMP mafic intrusive units, showing that magmatic activity was occurring ∼100 Kyr ago before the earliest known eruptions. We correlate the early magmatic activity with the onset of changes to the climatic and biotic records. We also report ages from sills in an organic rich sedimentary basin in Brazil that intrude synchronously with the extinction suggesting that degassing of these organics contributed to the climate change which drove the extinction. Our results indicate that the intrusive record from large igneous provinces may be more important for linking to mass extinctions than the eruptive record.

Dealing with discordance: a novel approach for analysing U–Pb detrital zircon datasets

Detrital zircon U–Pb geochronology is a rapidly expanding and useful technique for addressing the sedimentary rock record. However, because of difficulties in evaluating discordant analyses, common in most datasets, a high proportion of results may be discarded. These analyses, if interpreted correctly, can provide valuable information regarding the deformation, alteration or metamorphism of the zircon population, as these events are all capable of producing U–Pb discordance. A novel modelling procedure permits analysis of probabilistic relationships within U–Pb datasets to deconvolve the age information present within discordant analyses by assessing the relative likelihood of potential discordia lines. Additionally, because we retrieve useful information from discordant data, a stricter filter can be used to assess concordance, increasing confidence in those distributions. The validity of this modelling method is demonstrated using two previously published cases from the Caledonide orogen where clearly discordant analyses exist. In the Southern Uplands of Scotland, these analyses indicate resetting of the U–Pb systematics in metasedimentary rocks in the Grampian orogen prior to Ordovician erosion and redeposition. In the second case, from the Greenland Caledonides, discordant data provide additional constraints on previously proposed in situ resetting during Scandian deformation and fluid flow events. Supplementary material: The code used for writing the model, along with an instruction guide, is available at http://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.2182197.

Resolving oxygen isotopic disturbance in zircon: A case study from the low δ18O Scourie dikes, NW Scotland

Abstract In this paper, we describe an in situ non-destructive technique to identify areas within zircon crystals that have experienced fluid exchange. We show that Raman spectroscopy combined with electron microprobe trace-element analysis can be used to pinpoint areas in altered, complexly zoned, and metamict zircon that record the original magmatic compositions. These techniques are developed on a suite of Paleoproterozoic zircon crystals from the Scourie dike swarm in the Archean gneiss terrane of NW Scotland that are known to be anomalously low in δ18O. We show that zircons from the Scourie dikes record extremely low-δ18O isotopic compositions down to approximately -3‰, which reflect their magmatic values. Zircon populations from the dikes have a range in δ18O from low values (<0‰) up to ~5‰ with no obvious relationship between oxygen isotopic composition and cathodoluminescence. Raman spectra from the zircons show evidence for fluid interaction in some areas of the grains because of partial recrystallization and atypical radiation damage properties. Electron microprobe analysis in the same areas documents high (>1000 ppm) U concentrations and high (>1000 ppm) abundances of non-formula Ca. When the combined Raman and electron microprobe data are used to filter the oxygen isotopic data, the fluid altered areas of the grains show consistently higher δ18O values than the areas without evidence for fluid alteration. The low-δ18O values therefore reflect the original magmatic composition of the grains and indicate that the Scourie dike magmas were low in 18O. We suggest that these non-destructive techniques should be used prior to SIMS analysis of complex zircons to target the least disturbed areas of the grains.

The Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP): A Review

The Central Atlantic magmatic province (CAMP) consists of basic rocks emplaced as shallow intrusions and erupted in large lava flow fields over a land surface area in excess of 10 million km2 on the supercontinent Pangaea at about 201 Ma. The peak activity of the CAMP straddled the Triassic-Jurassic boundary and probably lasted less than 1 million years, while late activity went on for several Ma more into the Sinemurian. Emission of carbon and sulfur from the CAMP magmas and from intruded sediments probably caused extinctions at the end-Triassic. Intrusive rocks are represented by isolated dykes up to 800 km-long, by dense dyke swarms and by extremely voluminous sills and a few layered intrusions. Lava fields were erupted as short-lived pulses and can be traced over distances of several hundred km within sedimentary basins. They consist of either compound or simple pahoehoe flows. Globally, the intrusive and effusive rocks are estimated to represent an original magmatic volume of at least 3 million km3. Herein we subdivide the CAMP basalts for the first time into six main geochemical groups, five represented by low-Ti and one by high-Ti rocks. Except for one low-Ti group, which is ubiquitous throughout the entire province, all other groups occur in relatively restricted areas and their compositions probably reflect contamination from the local continental lithosphere. Major and trace elements and Sr-Nd-Pb-Os isotopic compositions indicate that the basaltic magmas had an enriched composition compared to Mid-Ocean Ridge basalts and different from Atlantic Ocean Island basalts. The enriched composition of CAMP basalts is only in part attributable to crustal contamination. It also probably requires subducted upper and lower continental crust material that enriched the shallow upper mantle from which CAMP basalts were generated. A contribution from a deep mantle-plume is not required by geochemical and thermometric data, but it remains unclear what other possible heat source caused mantle melting on the scale required to form CAMP.