FAUNAL SUCCESSION AND GEOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF CARBONATE FACIES CHANGES ALONG THE LATE PERMIAN MASS EXTINCTION BOUNDARY IN THE NANPANJIANG BASIN, SOUTH CHINA: A POTENTIAL ARGUMENT FOR OCEAN ACIDIFICATION AND ITS IMPLICATIONS

The late Permian mass extinction is considered the largest extinction event in Earth’s history with over 90% of marine and 70% of terrestrial species becoming extinct as a result (Lehrmann et al., 2015). The Nanpanjiang Basin in southern China contains multiple drowned carbonate platforms that are a record of the Permian-Triassic boundary. Data of two subsections from the Tianwan section of the Tian’e platform in the Nanpanjiang Basin consist of Permian carbonates, the altered truncation surface of the Permian-Triassic boundary as well as Triassic microbialites. Analysis of 1) faunal succession, 2) faunal dominance, 3) stable isotopes and 4) diagenetic structures contributes to the understanding of the environmental conditions during the late Permian to early Triassic. Data collected shows a trend from skeletal packstone to microbial boundstone from the Permian to Triassic respectively. Stable isotope analysis of δ13C and δ18O data up section both show large excursions at the extinction boundary.