The link between massive flood basalt volcanism and the end-Triassic mass-extinction is commonly accepted. However, exactly how volcanism led to the collapse of ecosystems and the extinction of entire families of organisms is difficult to establish. Extreme climate change from the release of carbon dioxide, degradation of the ozone layer due to the injection of damaging chemicals, and the emissions of toxic pollutants, are all seen as contributing factors. One toxic element stands out: mercury.
An international team of Dutch, Chinese, Danish, British, and Czech scientists studied sediments from Northern-Germany in a drill-core that spans the uppermost Triassic to lower Jurassic for microfossils and geochemical signals. A study of pollen and spore abundances revealed a profusion of fern spores showing a range of malformations, from abnormalities in wall structure to evidence for botched meiotic divisions, leading to unseparated, dwarfed, and fused fern spores.
"We know that mass-extinction events were complex and long-lasting events. Here we show that a mix of greenhouse warming and pollution led to continued ecosystem perturbation. Coastal ecosystems likely suffered the most by receiving large amounts of mobilized mercury from vast catchment areas. Eventually, the system recovered during the Sinemurian, when we see stable forested biomes appear.
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