Mercury isotope evidence for protracted North Atlantic magmatism during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum

Simin Jin; David B. Kemp; Runsheng Yin; Ruiyang Sun; Jun Shen; David W. Jolley; Manuel Vieira; Chunju Huang

doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2022.117926

Mercury isotope evidence for protracted North Atlantic magmatism during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum

Simin Jin, David B. Kemp^* (Corresponding Author), Runsheng Yin, Ruiyang Sun, Jun Shen, David W. Jolley, Manuel Vieira, Chunju Huang

^*Corresponding author for this work

Geology and Geophysics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, ∼56 Ma) was a major hyperthermal event that has been linked to CO₂ release from the North Atlantic Igneous Province (NAIP). Anomalously high sedimentary mercury (Hg) concentrations, a proxy for volcanism, have been recorded across the PETM, but the precise mechanistic links between NAIP emplacement and the event are unclear. Here, we present Hg abundance and Hg-isotope data across a thick, deep-marine sedimentary record deposited in close proximity to active NAIP volcanism. A marked transient shift of Δ¹⁹⁹Hg towards higher values occurs within the PETM onset, indicating a causal link to extrusive volcanic activity from the NAIP. Increasing Δ¹⁹⁹Hg values through the body of the PETM indicate a protracted interval of magmatism. Towards the end of, and after, the PETM the data suggest an overall waning influence of direct volcanogenic Hg outgassing. Our data can explain both the triggering mechanism and long duration of the PETM.

Original language	English
Article number	117926
Number of pages	9
Journal	Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Volume	602
Early online date	29 Nov 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2022.117926
Publication status	Published - 15 Jan 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We thank the two anonymous reviewers for their valuable suggestions that helped us to improve the quality of this paper. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41888101 , 42230208 , 42172039 ), National Recruitment Program for Young Professionals (P.R. China) to DBK and the National Key R&D Program of China ( 2022YFF0802900 ). We thank Shell UK and partners for their support and permission to publish this research. We also thank Di Chen for assistance with laboratory work. This work is a contribution to IGCP739.

Data Availability Statement

Data will be made available on request.

Keywords

basaltic volcanism
large igneous province
mercury
mercury isotopes
North Atlantic Igneous Province
PETM

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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Cite this

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title = "Mercury isotope evidence for protracted North Atlantic magmatism during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum",

abstract = "The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, ∼56 Ma) was a major hyperthermal event that has been linked to CO2 release from the North Atlantic Igneous Province (NAIP). Anomalously high sedimentary mercury (Hg) concentrations, a proxy for volcanism, have been recorded across the PETM, but the precise mechanistic links between NAIP emplacement and the event are unclear. Here, we present Hg abundance and Hg-isotope data across a thick, deep-marine sedimentary record deposited in close proximity to active NAIP volcanism. A marked transient shift of Δ199Hg towards higher values occurs within the PETM onset, indicating a causal link to extrusive volcanic activity from the NAIP. Increasing Δ199Hg values through the body of the PETM indicate a protracted interval of magmatism. Towards the end of, and after, the PETM the data suggest an overall waning influence of direct volcanogenic Hg outgassing. Our data can explain both the triggering mechanism and long duration of the PETM.",

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author = "Simin Jin and Kemp, {David B.} and Runsheng Yin and Ruiyang Sun and Jun Shen and Jolley, {David W.} and Manuel Vieira and Chunju Huang",

note = "Funding Information: We thank the two anonymous reviewers for their valuable suggestions that helped us to improve the quality of this paper. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41888101 , 42230208 , 42172039 ), National Recruitment Program for Young Professionals (P.R. China) to DBK and the National Key R&D Program of China ( 2022YFF0802900 ). We thank Shell UK and partners for their support and permission to publish this research. We also thank Di Chen for assistance with laboratory work. This work is a contribution to IGCP739. ",

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AU - Sun, Ruiyang

AU - Shen, Jun

AU - Jolley, David W.

AU - Vieira, Manuel

AU - Huang, Chunju

N1 - Funding Information: We thank the two anonymous reviewers for their valuable suggestions that helped us to improve the quality of this paper. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41888101 , 42230208 , 42172039 ), National Recruitment Program for Young Professionals (P.R. China) to DBK and the National Key R&D Program of China ( 2022YFF0802900 ). We thank Shell UK and partners for their support and permission to publish this research. We also thank Di Chen for assistance with laboratory work. This work is a contribution to IGCP739.

PY - 2023/1/15

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N2 - The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, ∼56 Ma) was a major hyperthermal event that has been linked to CO2 release from the North Atlantic Igneous Province (NAIP). Anomalously high sedimentary mercury (Hg) concentrations, a proxy for volcanism, have been recorded across the PETM, but the precise mechanistic links between NAIP emplacement and the event are unclear. Here, we present Hg abundance and Hg-isotope data across a thick, deep-marine sedimentary record deposited in close proximity to active NAIP volcanism. A marked transient shift of Δ199Hg towards higher values occurs within the PETM onset, indicating a causal link to extrusive volcanic activity from the NAIP. Increasing Δ199Hg values through the body of the PETM indicate a protracted interval of magmatism. Towards the end of, and after, the PETM the data suggest an overall waning influence of direct volcanogenic Hg outgassing. Our data can explain both the triggering mechanism and long duration of the PETM.

AB - The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, ∼56 Ma) was a major hyperthermal event that has been linked to CO2 release from the North Atlantic Igneous Province (NAIP). Anomalously high sedimentary mercury (Hg) concentrations, a proxy for volcanism, have been recorded across the PETM, but the precise mechanistic links between NAIP emplacement and the event are unclear. Here, we present Hg abundance and Hg-isotope data across a thick, deep-marine sedimentary record deposited in close proximity to active NAIP volcanism. A marked transient shift of Δ199Hg towards higher values occurs within the PETM onset, indicating a causal link to extrusive volcanic activity from the NAIP. Increasing Δ199Hg values through the body of the PETM indicate a protracted interval of magmatism. Towards the end of, and after, the PETM the data suggest an overall waning influence of direct volcanogenic Hg outgassing. Our data can explain both the triggering mechanism and long duration of the PETM.

KW - basaltic volcanism

KW - large igneous province

KW - mercury

KW - mercury isotopes

KW - North Atlantic Igneous Province

KW - PETM

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JO - Earth and Planetary Science Letters

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Mercury isotope evidence for protracted North Atlantic magmatism during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Data Availability Statement

Keywords

UN SDGs

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