Weissert Event

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The Weissert Event, also referred to as the Weissert Thermal Excursion (WTX), [1] was a hyperthermal event that occurred in the Valanginian stage of the Early Cretaceous epoch. [2] This thermal excursion occurred amidst the relatively cool Tithonian-early Barremian Cool Interval (TEBCI). [1] Its termination marked an intense cooling event, [3] potentially even an ice age. [4]

Contents

Duration

The start of the WTX has been astrochronologically dated by one study to 134.50 ± 0.19 million years ago (Ma), with its positive δ13C excursion being found to last until 133.96 ± 0.19 Ma and the plateau phase of elevated δ13C values until 132.44 ± 0.19 Ma. [5] However, astrochronological studies of sediments in the Vocontian Basin have yielded a duration of 2.08 Myr, with the positive δ13C excursion being 0.94 Myr in duration and the δ13C plateau being 1.14 Myr. [6] A different study concludes the WTX lasted for about 1.4 million years (Myr) based on the chronological length of the high δ13C plateau observed over its course in the Bersek Marl Formation of Hungary. [7]

Causes

An addition of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere via the activity of the Paraná-Etendeka Large Igneous Province (PE-LIP) is generally accepted as the leading candidate for what sparked the WTX, [2] although this is not universally accepted, with some reconstructed geochronologies showing a lack of causality between the emplacement of the PE-LIP and the onset of the WTX. [4] The prolonged, drawn out manner in which the PE-LIP erupted has been brought up as a further argument against its emplacement as the driving perturbation causing the WTX. [8]

Effects

The WTX resulted in a rapid global temperature increase during the otherwise mild TEBCI. [1] The sharp jump in global temperatures during this hyperthermal event was accompanied by oceanic anoxia. [9] However, unlike other oceanic anoxic events, the WTX is not associated with widespread black shale deposits. [10] Nannoconids experienced a decline at the onset of the WTX resulting from marine regression, but bloomed in abundance later on in the event as ocean productivity skyrocketed. [11] In the Vocontian Basin, the WTX is associated with an increase in marlstones. [12] At the end of the WTX, temperatures cooled by ~1–2 °C based on the results of palaeothermometry done in southern France, whereas the Boreal Ocean and its surroundings cooled by as much as 4 °C. [3] Geochemical records of 187Os/188Os point to an increase in unradiogenic osmium flux into the ocean, suggesting the occurrence of silicate weathering of PE-LIP basalts during this slice of time, providing the most likely explanation for the temperature drop. [13] Some studies have suggested that a transient ice age with limited but significant polar ice caps occurred in the aftermath of the WTX, [4] [14] although the lack of a positive δ18Oseawater excursion during the latest Valanginian interval of cooling and the presence instead of a very slightly negative excursion calls into question the existence of any significant polar ice growth. [8]

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The Cretaceous is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of the entire Phanerozoic. The name is derived from the Latin creta, 'chalk', which is abundant in the latter half of the period. It is usually abbreviated K, for its German translation Kreide.

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The Eocene is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name Eocene comes from the Ancient Greek Ἠώς and καινός and refers to the "dawn" of modern ('new') fauna that appeared during the epoch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triassic</span> First period of the Mesozoic Era 252–201 million years ago

The Triassic is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period of the Mesozoic Era. Both the start and end of the period are marked by major extinction events. The Triassic Period is subdivided into three epochs: Early Triassic, Middle Triassic and Late Triassic.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Scotese, Christopher R.; Song, Haijun; Mills, Benjamin J. W.; van der Meer, Douwe G. (1 April 2021). "Phanerozoic paleotemperatures: The earth's changing climate during the last 540 million years". Earth-Science Reviews . 215: 103503. Bibcode:2021ESRv..21503503S. doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2021.103503. ISSN   0012-8252. S2CID   233579194 . Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  2. 1 2 Martinez, Mathieu; Deconinck, Jean-François; Pellenard, Pierre; Riquier, Laurent; Company, Miguel; Reboulet, Stéphane; Moiroud, Mathieu (1 August 2015). "Astrochronology of the Valanginian–Hauterivian stages (Early Cretaceous): Chronological relationships between the Paraná–Etendeka large igneous province and the Weissert and the Faraoni events". Global and Planetary Change . 131: 158–173. Bibcode:2015GPC...131..158M. doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2015.06.001. ISSN   0921-8181 . Retrieved 5 November 2023.{{cite journal}}: |last5= has generic name (help)
  3. 1 2 Cavalheiro, Liyenne; Wagner, Thomas; Steinig, Sebastian; Bottini, Cinzia; Dummann, Wolf; Esegbue, Onoriode; Gambacorta, Gabriele; Giraldo-Gómez, Victor; Farnsworth, Alexander; Flögel, Sascha; Hofmann, Peter; Lunt, Daniel J.; Rethemeyer, Janet; Torricelli, Stefano; Erba, Elisabetta (13 September 2021). "Impact of global cooling on Early Cretaceous high pCO2 world during the Weissert Event". Nature Communications . 12 (1): 5411. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-25706-0 . ISSN   2041-1723. PMC   8437947 . PMID   34518550.
  4. 1 2 3 Martinez, Mathieu; Deconinck, Jean-François; Pellenard, Pierre; Reboulet, Stéphane; Riquier, Laurent (15 April 2013). "Astrochronology of the Valanginian Stage from reference sections (Vocontian Basin, France) and palaeoenvironmental implications for the Weissert Event". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology . 376: 91–102. Bibcode:2013PPP...376...91M. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2013.02.021. ISSN   0031-0182 . Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  5. ↑ Martinez, Mathieu; Aguirre-Urreta, Beatriz; Dera, Guillaume; Lescano, Marina; Omarini, Julieta; Tunik, Maisa; O'Dogherty, Luis; Aguado, Roque; Company, Miguel; Bodin, Stéphane (1 April 2023). "Synchrony of carbon cycle fluctuations, volcanism and orbital forcing during the Early Cretaceous". Earth-Science Reviews . 239: 104356. Bibcode:2023ESRv..23904356M. doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2023.104356. ISSN   0012-8252. S2CID   256880421 . Retrieved 5 November 2023.{{cite journal}}: |last9= has generic name (help)
  6. ↑ Charbonnier, Guillaume; Boulila, Slah; Gardin, Silvia; Duchamp-Alphonse, Stéphanie; Adatte, Thierry; Spangenberg, Jorge E.; Föllmi, Karl B.; Colin, Christophe; Galbrun, Bruno (1 October 2013). "Astronomical calibration of the Valanginian "Weissert" episode: The Orpierre marl–limestone succession (Vocontian Basin, southeastern France)". Cretaceous Research . 45: 25–42. Bibcode:2013CrRes..45...25C. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2013.07.003. ISSN   0195-6671 . Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  7. ↑ Bajnai, Dávid; Pálfy, József; Martinez, Mathieu; Price, Gregory D.; Nyerges, Anita; Főzy, István (1 July 2017). "Multi-proxy record of orbital-scale changes in climate and sedimentation during the Weissert Event in the Valanginian Bersek Marl Formation (Gerecse Mts., Hungary)". Cretaceous Research . 75: 45–60. Bibcode:2017CrRes..75...45B. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2017.02.021. hdl: 10026.1/8696 . ISSN   0195-6671 . Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  8. 1 2 Price, Gregory D.; Janssen, Nico M. M.; Martinez, Mathieu; Company, Miguel; Vandevelde, Justin H.; Grimes, Stephen T. (8 October 2018). "A High-Resolution Belemnite Geochemical Analysis of Early Cretaceous (Valanginian-Hauterivian) Environmental and Climatic Perturbations". Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems . 19 (10): 3832–3843. Bibcode:2018GGG....19.3832P. doi: 10.1029/2018GC007676 . hdl: 10026.1/12437 . ISSN   1525-2027.{{cite journal}}: |last4= has generic name (help)
  9. ↑ Erba, Elisabetta; Bartolini, Annachiara; Larson, Roger L. (1 February 2004). "Valanginian Weissert oceanic anoxic event". Geology . 32 (2): 149. Bibcode:2004Geo....32..149E. doi:10.1130/G20008.1. ISSN   0091-7613 . Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  10. ↑ Bornemann, André; Erbacher, Jochen; Blumenberg, Martin; Voigt, Silke (15 June 2023). "A first high-resolution carbon isotope stratigraphy from the Boreal (NW Germany) for the Berriasian to Coniacian interval—implications for the timing of the Aptian–Albian boundary". Frontiers in Earth Science . 11: 1–14. Bibcode:2023FrEaS..1173319B. doi: 10.3389/feart.2023.1173319 . ISSN   2296-6463.
  11. ↑ Shmeit, M.; Giraud, F.; Jaillard, E.; Reboulet, S.; Masrour, M.; Spangenberg, J. E.; El-Samrani, A. (1 August 2022). "The Valanginian Weissert Event on the south Tethyan margin: A dynamic paleoceanographic evolution based on the study of calcareous nannofossils". Marine Micropaleontology. 175: 102134. doi:10.1016/j.marmicro.2022.102134. ISSN   0377-8398. S2CID   249325228 . Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  12. ↑ Martinez, Mathieu; Guillois, Landry; Boulvais, Philippe; Deconinck, Jean-François (8 May 2020). "Inverted Responses of the Carbon Cycle to Orbital Forcing in Mesozoic Periplatform Marginal Basins: Implications for Astrochronology". Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology . 35 (6): 1–19. Bibcode:2020PaPa...35.3705M. doi:10.1029/2019PA003705. ISSN   2572-4517. S2CID   218939500 . Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  13. ↑ Percival, Lawrence M. E.; Ownsworth, E.; Robinson, S. A.; Selby, D.; Goderis, S.; Claeys, P. (1 August 2023). "Valanginian climate cooling and environmental change driven by Paraná-Etendeka basalt erosion". Geology . 51 (8): 753–757. Bibcode:2023Geo....51..753P. doi:10.1130/G51202.1. ISSN   0091-7613 . Retrieved 22 December 2023– via GeoScienceWorld.
  14. ↑ Gröcke, Darren R.; Price, Gregory D.; Robinson, Stuart A.; Baraboshkin, Evgenij Y.; Mutterlose, Jörg; Ruffell, Alastair H. (1 December 2005). "The Upper Valanginian (Early Cretaceous) positive carbon–isotope event recorded in terrestrial plants". Earth and Planetary Science Letters . 240 (2): 495–509. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2005.09.001. ISSN   0012-821X . Retrieved 5 November 2023.
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