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Journal of the Geological Society; 1995; v. 152; issue.6; p. 899-902;
DOI: 10.1144/GSL.JGS.1995.152.01.02
© 1995 Geological Society of London

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Late Ordovician extinctions and sea-level change

A. R. Wyatt

Institute of Earth Studies, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, Dyfed SY23 3DB, UK

If Ordovician continental blocks had similar hypsometries to modern continental blocks, glacially-induced regressions would have increased shallow water areas. Thus species/area effects cannot be invoked to explain extinctions during these regressions. Because late Ordovician sea level was so high, glacially-induced regressions of similar magnitudes to Quaternary regressions would have dramatically increased the input of dissolved load into the shallow sea. This ‘pollution’ effect may have been one cause of the extinctions.


Keywords: Ordovician, dissolved materials, extinction, regression.