Abstract
Precise determinations of the rates and durations of Palaeozoic biogeochemical events are largely unavailable. Here, we present two new high-precision U–Pb (zircon) dates from volcanic ash deposits from the Ludlow Series (Silurian System) of Podolia, Ukraine, that yielded weighted mean 206Pb/238U dates of 424.08 ± 0.20 (0.29) [0.53] Ma and 422.91 ± 0.07 (0.21) [0.49] Ma (analytical, tracer and total uncertainties). These new dates bracket the largest post-Cambrian global carbon cycle perturbation (Lau Excursion) and constrain the ‘Ludlow Rise’ in 87Sr/86Sr. These chronostratigraphically well-controlled dates improve the calibration of the Silurian time scale and provide the first determinations of the rates of biogeochemical change during the Ludlow Epoch.
Supplementary material: U–Pb geochemical methods, data and CL imagery are available at http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18798.
- © 2015 The Geological Society of London
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High-precision U–Pb zircon age constraints on the duration of rapid biogeochemical events during the Ludlow Epoch (Silurian Period)
