Age and Timing of the Permian Mass Extinctions: U/Pb Dating of Closed-System Zircons
Abstract
The age and timing of the Permian-Triassic mass extinction have been difficult to determine because zircon populations from the type sections are typically affected by pervasive lead loss and contamination by indistinguishable older xenocrysts. Zircons from nine ash beds within the Shangsi and Meishan sections (China), pretreated by annealing followed by partial attack with hydrofluoric acid, result in suites of consistent and concordant uranium/lead (U/Pb) ages, eliminating the effects of lead loss. The U/Pb age of the main pulse of the extinction is 252.6 ± 0.2 million years, synchronous with the Siberian flood volcanism, and it occurred within the quoted uncertainty.
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This study was supported by the NSF (EAR-0125799), the Australian Research Council, and the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation. We thank J. Mattinson for generously sharing his ideas; B. Nicoll and Zhihao Wang for help and support in the field; M. Cover, A. DeHollan, and G. Johnson for lab assistance; and J. Feinberg for SEM imaging. This work is dedicated to the late Rudolf H. Steiger.
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Science
Volume 305 | Issue 5691
17 September 2004
17 September 2004
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American Association for the Advancement of Science.
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Received: 2 June 2004
Accepted: 6 August 2004
Published in print: 17 September 2004
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