Paleoenvironmental signature of the Deccan Phase-2 eruptions
Eric Font  1, *@  , Alexandra Abrajevitch  2, *@  , Rémazeilles Céline  3, *@  
1 : Fundaçao da Faculdade de Ciencias de Lisboa  (FCUL)  -  Site web
Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa Campo Grande 1749-016 Lisboa · Portugal T (+351) 217 500 357 • Ext. 21103) -  Portugal
2 : Institute of Tectonics and Geophysics, Russian Academy of Sciences
Institute of Tectonics and Geophysics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Khabarovsk, 680000, Russia -  Russie
3 : Laboratoire d'Etude des Matériaux en Milieux Agressifs
Université de La Rochelle : EA3167
Laboratoire d'Etude des Matériaux en Milieux Agressifs, EA 3167, Université de La Rochelle, Bat. Marie Curie, Avenue Michel Crépeau, F-17042 La Rochelle Cedex 01, France -  France
* : Auteur correspondant

The environmental impact of the Deccan trap volcanism is poorly understood as yet. The paucity of geological markers that can unambiguously be attributed to the Deccan volcanism and the temporal coincidence of the volcanism with an asteroid impact make evaluation of volcanic contribution to the end Cretaceous mass extinction difficult. Here we briefly review environmental proxy records of two reference Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary (KTB) sections, Bidart (France) and Gubbio (Italy). In both sections, a change in colour of sediments located just below the KTB is systematically associated with very low values of (low-field) magnetic susceptibility (MS). Rock magnetic characteristics suggest that the decrease in MS values results from the loss (dissolution) of ferrimagnetic mineral in this intervals. In addition to the characteristic change in magnetic assemblage, akaganeite (chlorine-bearing iron oxyhydroxide) is commonly observed under the scanning electron microscope in the low MS intervals at Bidart and Gubbio, but has never been detected in the remaining sedimentary successions. We suggest that the association of granular akaganeite and iron oxides dissolution features can be explained by an ocean acidification and aerosol deposition event linked to the Deccan Phase-2 volcanism.


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