MERCURY CONCENTRATIONS AND ISOTOPES FROM THE TRIASSIC-JURASSIC BOUNDARY: A LITHOLOGIC AND DEPOSITIONAL DISCUSSION

The end-Triassic mass extinction coincided with the emplacement of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP). Elevated mercury concentrations and mercury isotopes consistent with a volcanic signature have recently provided an effective record of CAMP volcanism in the marine sedimentary record (Percival et al., 2017; Thibodeau et al., 2016) from strata spanning the extinction and early recovery intervals, linking the records of extinction and CAMP volcanism. Here, we expand on the mercury records from the Triassic-Jurassic boundary with additional data sets of mercury concentration and isotopes across a spectrum of depositional environments, including Levanto, Peru, St. Audrie’s Bay, UK, and additional data from New York Canyon, Nevada. We will discuss the lithologic, depositional, and diagenetic differences of three TJB records and how they may affect the records of mercury isotopes and mercury concentrations. Our results emphasize similarities in mercury records from the TJB despite differences in depositional and diagenetic history, suggesting mercury is an effective chemostratigraphic tracer of large igneous province volcanism.