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A brachiopod calcite record of the oceanic carbon and oxygen isotope shifts at the Permian/Triassic transition

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Abstract

The Permian/Triassic (P/T) mass extinction was the most dramatic of all such events but its cause has thus far remained elusive1–3. Carbon and oxygen isotope analyses may offer clues to this puzzle because their results identify major changes in the Earth's exosystem4,5. Several studies have already dealt with carbon and oxygen isotope records at the P/T transition2,6–11, but we present here empirical data derived from the brachiopod shell calcite, whose isotope composition generally corresponds to that of the sea water in which the animals lived originally12–15. These data allow us to assess quantitatively the magnitude of changes in the Earth's exosystem during that critical time interval.

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Author notes

  1. StanisŁaw HaŁas: Institute of Physics, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Pl. Marii Skłodowskiej-Curie 1, PL-20-031 Lublin, Poland

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Paleobiology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Al. Żwirki i Wigury 93, PL-02-089, Warszawa, Poland

    Michal GruszczyŃski, StanisŁaw HaŁas, Antoni Hoffman & Krzysztof Małkowski

Authors
  1. Michal GruszczyŃski
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  2. StanisŁaw HaŁas
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  3. Antoni Hoffman
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  4. Krzysztof Małkowski
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GruszczyŃski, M., HaŁas, S., Hoffman, A. et al. A brachiopod calcite record of the oceanic carbon and oxygen isotope shifts at the Permian/Triassic transition. Nature 337, 64–68 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/337064a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/337064a0

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