The Permian of Northern Pangea : Volume 1: Paleogeography, Paleoclimates, Stratigraphy

The Permian was a remarkable time period. It represents the maximum stage of Pangean continental assembly, includes a major global climatic shift from glacial to nonglacial conditions (icehouse-greenhouse transition), and is ter­ minated by one of the most profound faunal/floral extinction events in the Earth's history. In addition, Permian oceans, although poorly understood, must have had some quite unique characteristics. Permian seas reached the most extreme values of carbon, sulfur, and strontium isotopic ratios ever achieved in Phanerozoic time, and the isotopic ratios of all three elements abruptly returned to more "normal" values at, or very close to, the Permo­ Triassic boundary. Finally, the Permian is marked by an abundance of important sedimentary mineral resources. It has large fossil fuel concentra­ tions (coal, oil, and natural gas), enormous phosphate reserves, and very extensive evaporite deposits, including gypsum, anhydrite, and halite, as well as a variety of potash salts. Study of the Permian has been hampered, however, by a number of factors. These include a scattered geologic literature (presented in a variety of languages), a confusing regional and global stratigraphic framework (based, in part, on inadequate type sections), and largely provincial, often poorly correlatable faunas. All have contributed to the sparsity and inadequacy of overviews of this critical geological interval. The two volumes attempts to bring together some of the widely scattered observations about these fascinating rocks, at least for the northern (pre­ dominantly nonglacial) parts of Pangea. Front Matter....Pages I-VII Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Pangea and the Paleogeography of the Permian....Pages 3-19 The End-Permian Mass Extinction....Pages 20-34 Front Matter....Pages 35-35 The Climate of Pangaea: A Review of Climate Model Simulations of the Permian....Pages 37-52 Geologic Evidence of Permian Climate....Pages 53-61 The Ending of the Late Paleozoic Ice Age During the Permian Period....Pages 62-74 Front Matter....Pages 75-75 A Numerical Time Scale for the Permian and Triassic Periods: An Integrated Time Analysis....Pages 77-97 Permian Sequence Stratigraphy....Pages 98-123 Variation in 87 Sr / 86 Sr of Permian Seawater: An Overview....Pages 124-132 Carbon and Sulfur Isotope Stratigraphy of the Permian and Adjacent Intervals....Pages 133-149 Front Matter....Pages 151-151 Permian Sponge Biogeography and Biostratigraphy....Pages 153-166 Permian Fusulinaceans....Pages 167-185 Permian Conodonts....Pages 186-195 Permian Bryozoa....Pages 196-209 Permian Ammonoids in the Arctic Regions of the World....Pages 210-235 Palynology of the Permian of Northern Continents: A Review....Pages 236-261 This book brings together the widely scattered observations about Permian rocks of the northern part of Pangea. In Volume 1 broad overviews are provided for Pangean paleogeography and continental positioning as well as faunal and floral extinctions. Several papers examine Permian paleoclimates and climatic cyclicity using computer modeling, traditional geological evidence from climatic indicators, or a combination of both approaches. More detailed, and more conventional correlation techniques are discussed in papers dealing with biostratigraphic and paleogeographic aspects of the most important fossil groups in the Permian. The reader will find a synthesis of current geologic knowledge and an outline of modern trends of interpretation for a time interval which is receiving increased attention