The end-Permian mass extinction was the most severe biodiversity crisis in Earth history. To better constrain the timing, and ultimately the causes of this event, we collected a suite of geochronologic, isotopic, and biostratigraphic data on several well-preserved sedimentary sections in South China. High-precision U-Pb dating reveals that the extinction peak occurred just before 252.28 ± 0.08 million years ago, after a decline of 2 per mil (‰) in δ(13)C over 90,000 years, and coincided with a δ(13)C excursion of -5‰ that is estimated to have lasted ≤20,000 years. The extinction interval was less than 200,000 years and synchronous in marine and terrestrial realms; associated charcoal-rich and soot-bearing layers indicate widespread wildfires on land. A massive release of thermogenic carbon dioxide and/or methane may have caused the catastrophic extinction.

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The Saghand area of East-Central Iran exposes rocks that comprise the substratum of the Central Iranian continental terrane, as part of the larger Alpine-Himalayan orogenic system. Our new U-Pb ages and geochemical data from the magmatic, metamorphic and siliciclastic rocks of the Saghand area unravel three main episodes of orogenic activity in the latest Neoproterozoic-Early Cambrian, the Late Triassic, and the Eocene. Geologic events in the oldest episode include in chronological order, low-to medium-grade metamorphism, calc-alkaline plutonism, rhyolitic to andesitic volcanism, and widespread trondhjemite emplacement, from 547 Ma to 525 Ma. The Late Triassic event (approximately 220-213 Ma) is characterized by the emplacement of granite-tonalite plutons. The extensive, high-grade metamorphic rocks, migmatites and post-kinematic intrusions of Eocene age (47-44 Ma) occur in a distinct domain, in the western part of the Saghand area. These rocks previously were thought to represent the Precambrian basement of the Central Iranian Terrane. The terminal Neoproterozoic-Early Cambrian orogeny in central Iran was related to a broad-scale magmatic arc that developed along the Proto-Tethyan margin of the Gondwanaland supercontinent. The fragmented remains of that margin occur as displaced terranes, including the Central Iranian Terrane, now embedded within the Alpine-Himalayan orogenic system. The newly recognized Late Triassic intrusions of the Saghand area are indicative of a tectonomagmatic episode of possible collisional nature, in accord with the previously identified Early Kimmerian (Cimmerian) event in the region. The extensive Eocene metamorphic and magmatic activities correspond to the early Alpine Orogeny, which resulted from the convergence between Arabian and Eurasian plates, and the Cenozoic closure of the Tethys oceanic tract(s) by subduction.

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