The Anatomy and Lethality of the Siberian Traps Large Igneous Province

Abstract

Emplacement of the Siberian Traps large igneous province (LIP) around 252 Ma coincided with the most profound environmental disruption of the past 500 million years. The enormous volume of the Siberian Traps, its ability to generate greenhouse gases and other volatiles, and a temporal coincidence with extinction all suggest a causal link. Patterns of marine and terrestrial extinction/recovery are consistent with environmental stresses potentially triggered by the Siberian Traps. However, the nature of causal links between the LIP and mass extinction remains enigmatic. Understanding the origins, anatomy, and forcing potential of the Siberian Traps LIP and the spatiotemporal patterns of resulting stresses represents a critical counterpart to high-resolution fossil and proxy records of Permian–Triassic environmental and biotic shifts. This review provides a summary of recent advances and key questions regarding the Siberian Traps in an effort to illuminate what combination of factors made the Siberian Traps a uniquely deadly LIP. ▪ Large igneous provinces such as the Siberian Traps are capable of triggering global environmental destabilization. ▪ Greenhouse gases generated by Siberian Traps magmatism played a major role in driving the climate changes that triggered the end-Permian mass extinction. ▪ The end-Permian extinction fundamentally altered the evolutionary trajectory of Earth's biosphere, creating ecological space for many of the organisms seen today. ▪ Determining the timing and patterns of end-Permian marine and terrestrial mortality and recovery and the timing and character of Siberian Traps magmatism is key in understanding the causal link between magmatism and extinction. ▪ Understanding the cause(s) of past extinction events informs hypotheses about current and future environmental destabilization.