[1] The timing and causal relationships between the pronounced negative C isotope excursion and paleoenvironmental perturbations associated with the Toarcian oceanic anoxic event (Early Jurassic) remain unclear, particularly because biotic crises and carbonate production decrease appear to have been initiated earlier than the main C isotope anomaly. Here we present a new quantification of Late Pliensbachian-Early Toarcian calcareous nannofossils abundance and size from the Peniche reference section (Portugal) together with O and C isotope records of well-preserved brachiopod shells from the same section. The brachiopod shell d 13C curve parallels that of bulk carbonate and records two pronounced negative isotopic excursions, close to the Pliensbachian-Toarcian boundary ($À2%) and during the Toarcian oceanic anoxic event ($À3.5%). Our results indicate that both C isotope negative excursions were characteristic of benthic and shallow-water environments, suggesting that these two carbon cycle perturbations affected all epioceanic reservoirs. Coeval shifts toward lower values of brachiopod oxygen isotope compositions and closely correlated northward migrations of Mediterranean ammonite fauna suggest that both events coincided with major rises in seawater temperatures, probably as a result of increased CO 2 levels and enhanced greenhouse conditions. CO 2 -induced changes in seawater chemistry likely affected the calcification potential of both neritic and pelagic systems, as evidenced by synchronous drops of platform-derived carbonate accumulation and drastic reductions in size (>3 mm) of the main pelagic carbonate producer Schizosphaerella. We suggest that the Early Toarcian paleoenvironmental crisis occurred in two distinct episodes that were most likely related to two successive phases of intense volcanic degassing in the Karoo-Ferrar province.Citation: Suan, G., E. Mattioli, B. Pittet, S. Mailliot, and C. Lécuyer (2008), Evidence for major environmental perturbation prior to and during the Toarcian (Early Jurassic) oceanic anoxic event from the Lusitanian Basin,

International audienceThe Early Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE), about 183 myr ago, was a global event of environmental and carbon cycle perturbations, which deeply affected both marine biota and carbonate production. Nevertheless, the long-term environmental conditions prevailing prior to the main phase of marine extinction and carbonate production crisis remain poorly understood. Here we present a similar to 8 myr-long record of Early Pliensbachian-Middle Toarcian environmental changes from the Lusitanian Basin, Portugal, in order to address the long-term paleoclimatic evolution that ultimately led to carbonate production and biotic crises during the T-OAE. Paleotemperature estimates derived from the oxygen isotope compositions of well-reserved brachiopod shells from two different sections reveal a pronounced similar to 5 degrees C cooling in the Late Pliensbachian (margaritatus-spinatum ammonite Zones boundary). This cooling event is followed by a marked similar to 7-10 degrees C seawater warming in the Early Toarcian that, after a second cooling event in the mid-polymorphum Zone, culminates during the T-OAE. Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) contents, the amount of nannofossil calcite and the mean size of the major pelagic carbonate producer Schizosphaerella, all largely covary with paleotemperatures, indicating a coupling between climatic conditions and both pelagic and neritic CaCO3 production. Furthermore, the cooling and warming episodes coincided with major marine regressions and transgressions, respectively, suggesting that the growth and decay of ice caps may have exerted a strong control on sea-level fluctuations throughout the studied time interval. This revised chronology of environmental changes shows important similarities with Neogene and Paleozoic episodes of deglacial black shale formation, and thus prompts the reevaluation of ice sheet dynamics as a possible agent of Mesozoic events of extinction and organic-rich sedimentation. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

The marked 3-8‰ negative carbon isotope excursion associated with the Early Toarcian oceanic anoxic event (OAE;~183 myr ago) in the Early Jurassic period is thought to represent one of the most important perturbations of the C-cycle in the last 200 myr. However, the origin of this excursion remains strongly debated, primarily due to uncertainties in the estimation of its duration, which ranges from~200 kyr to 1 myr. Here we present a new orbital calibration of the Early Toarcian carbon isotope excursion, based on spectral analyses of two independent datasets generated from the sedimentary record of two hemipelagic sections from Portugal (Peniche) and SW Germany (Dotternhausen), in order to better constrain the timescale and hence the origin of this excursion. These analyses reveal that orbital cycles exert a strong influence on both the calcium carbonate content in Portugal and on the greyscale of black shales in Germany, which allow us to propose a duration of ≥ 1.9 myr for the Early Toarcian and of~900 kyr for the entire carbon isotope excursion. The shift towards lower carbon isotope values lasted~150 kyr, and carbon isotope values remained low for~450 kyr; the subsequent increase of carbon isotope values lasted~300 kyr. This calibration suggests that the sustained input of isotopically light carbon at the origin of the excursion occurred over~600 kyr and thus dismisses causal mechanisms implying relatively small source reservoirs such as the massive dissociation of methane hydrates. In the light of our new cyclostratigraphic timescale, the massive input of isotopically light carbon associated with the emplacement of the Karoo-Ferrar basaltic province appears as the most likely cause of the Toarcian global carbon isotope excursion. We also show that the C-isotope perturbation coincided with a transition from precession-eccentricity-dominated cycles to obliquityeccentricity-dominated cycles, suggesting that the OAE was marked by a fundamental change in the response of the climate system, which allowed the obliquity signal, normally better recorded at high latitudes, to be a dominant forcing factor of short-term sedimentary cycles at tropical latitudes.

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[1] Calcareous nannoplankton were profoundly affected by environmental perturbations coincident with the early Toarcian oceanic anoxic event (T-OAE). We quantify the abundance of nannofossils across the T-OAE at three locations in Western Europe, where the event is marked by a prominent negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE). Data were treated by statistical analysis, and the Shannon diversity index was applied in order to describe nannofossil assemblage changes related to paleoenvironmental evolution. In the basal Toarcian, before the T-OAE, high proportions of taxa with an affinity for low temperature (e.g., P. liasicus, T. patulus, Bussonius) occurred. This observation is consistent with interpretations of published oxygen isotope records. During the T-OAE, the lowest abundance of nannofossils is observed, but there is a peak of a coccolith (Calyculus) from an organism that probably thrived in low-saline surface waters depleted of nitrate. At the end of the perturbation, the lowest diversities of nannofossils occurred, and assemblages are dominated by Crepidolithus crassus, a deep dweller. This interval corresponded to progressive reoxygenation of deep water and the reoccupation of the deep photic zone by nannoplankton. The highest abundance of nannofossils is recorded above the CIE and testifies to the recovery of the entire nannoplankton community. The T-OAE was widespread (perhaps global) and probably linked to major changes in the atmosphere and hydrosphere. However, the record of this event varies in the basins surrounding the western Tethys, suggesting regional imprints on the global signal. The regional variability may attest to establishment of effective connections between the Arctic and Tethys oceans, which allowed cool, low-saline water formed at high latitudes to stream toward the western Tethys.

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International audienceThe Early Toarcian is marked by a global perturbation of the carbon cycle and major marine biological changes. These coincide with a general decrease in calcium carbonate production and an increase in organic carbon burial, and culminate in the so-called Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event. It is believed that the environmental crisis was triggered by the activity of the Karoo-Ferrar large igneous province. In order to further document the Early Toarcian palaeoenvironmental perturbations, carbon isotope, total organic matter, calcareous nannofossils and phosphorus content of the Amellago section in the High Atlas rift basin of Morocco were investigated. This section is extremely expanded compared to the well-studied European sections. Its position along the northern margin of the Gondwana continent is of critical importance because it enables an assessment of changes of river nutrient input into the western Tethyan realm. The carbon isotope curve shows two negative excursions of equal thickness and amplitude, at the Pliensbachian-Toarcian boundary and at the transition from the Polymorphum to the Levisoni Zone. This confirms the supra-regional nature of these shifts and highlights the possible condensation of the first "boundary" shift in European sections. Phosphorus content is used to trace palaeo-nutrient changes and shows that the two negative carbon isotope shifts are associated with increased nutrient levels, confirming that these episodes are related to enhanced continental weathering, probably due to elevated greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In the High Atlas Basin, the increase in nutrient levels at the Pliensbachian-Toarcian boundary is moreover likely to be the main factor responsible for the coeval demise of the Saharan carbonate platform. A middle Toarcian event, centered on the boundary between the Bifrons and Gradata Zones, characterized by a positive carbon isotope excursion and nutrient level rise, is documented in the Amellago section