Magnetostratigraphy across the end-Permian mass extinction event from the Meishan sections, southeastern China

Abstract

Abstract The end-Permian mass extinction (EPME) has been recorded as the most severe biodiversity crisis in Earth's history, although the timing of the marine and terrestrial extinctions remains debatable. We present a new high-resolution magnetostratigraphic succession across the EPME and the Permian-Triassic boundary (PTB) from the Meishan sections in southeastern China, which contain the global boundary stratotype section and point (GSSP) for the base of the Triassic (also the Induan Stage) and the base of the Changhsingian Stage. We identified five normal and five reverse magnetozones, including MS1n to MS5n and MS1r to MS5r, from oldest to youngest, in the Changhsingian and Induan Stages. The Induan Stage was determined to consist of two polarity intervals, where the upper one is reverse (MS5r), and the lower one is normal (MS5n). The Changhsingian Stage is dominated by normal polarity, intercalated with four short-term reverse magnetozones (MS1r to MS4r). Consequently, the PTB and the Wuchiapingian-Changhsingian boundary are clearly located in MS5n and MS1n, respectively. These new magnetostratigraphic results provide a potential reference geomagnetic polarity pattern with which to refine the geomagnetic polarity time scale for the EPME and the Permian-Triassic transition.