Palaeoenvironments and elemental geochemistry across the Permian–Triassic boundary at Ursula Creek, British Columbia, Canada, and a comparison with some other deep-water Permian–Triassic boundary shelf/slope sections in western North America

Abstract

The Permian–Triassic boundary sediments at Ursula Creek accumulated in a continental shelf basin, or on the continental slope of the western Canadian passive margin, at 30°N palaeolatitude along the eastern Panthalassic Ocean margin. The area lay within the cold northerly ocean currents at the junction of westerly and north-easterly trade wind belts, the latter causing summer coastal upwelling. The shift from uppermost Permian grey radiolarian cherts and grey shales to lowermost Triassic grey and black shales and fine-grained dolomites is typical of deep-water Panthalassic sediments. The palaeogeographical situation and palaeoenvironments are comparable to those of the present Canadian north-western Pacific margin. The Ursula Creek section reveals the progressive decline of seafloor oxygen values in the Changhsingian Stage), followed by the persistent development of euxinic conditions in the latest Changhsingian and throughout the Early Triassic; a transition that coincides with the disappearance of a siliceous sponge fauna and the loss of diverse radiolarian populations. Much of the detrital sediment was supplied by summer north-east Trade winds from the deserts of western North America, although variable amounts may have come across the Panthalassic Ocean as dust from contemporary volcanic eruptions. Relative palaeoproductivity changes show no consistent change in productivity across the Permian–Triassic boundary producing results that are comparable with those from the similar Opal Creek section to the south-east. The Ni/Co, Cu/Zn, U/Al and Th/U ratios indicate variable redox conditions in all sections, but with a tendency for oxic conditions to change to dysoxic across the Permian–Triassic boundary. The lack of consistent element geochemical changes across the boundary accompanied by significant isotopic changes, here and elsewhere, suggests that atmospheric and oceanic chemistry rather than physical changes, like provenance and sea-level changes, drove Permian–Triassic environmental changes and extinctions.