The coupling relationship between volcanic activity of the Emeishan Large Igneous Province and the mass extinction at the turn of the Middle-Late Permian

<p indent="0mm"> The coupling relationship between the volcanic activity of the Emeishan Large Igneous Province (ELIP) and the mass extinction event at the turn of the Middle-Late Permian is one of the hot topics in the field of geological research. Based on previous researches, this article summarized the starting and ending times of the ELIP volcanic eruption from aspects of paleontology, magnetic stratigraphy and isotopic chronology, discussed the possible genetic mechanism of the mass extinction event and analyzed the internal relationship between the ELIP volcanic activity and the mass extinction event. The main conclusions drawn are as follows, the ELIP volcanic eruption began at about <sc>260.55 Ma</sc> and lasted at least to about <sc>257.10 Ma,</sc> and the mass extinction event occurred from <sc>260 Ma</sc> to <sc>259 Ma</sc> at the turn of the Middle-Late Permian. This means that there is a temporal and spatial correlation between the two events. In addition, characteristics of data such as the about 5‰ negative offset of δ¹³C_carb values within the Capitanian stage, extremely low ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values (0.7068~0.7070) of the corresponding conodont zones, and the temperature fluctuations during the Guadalupian–Lopingian transition period (the <sc>4 °C</sc> warming followed by the <sc>6~8 °C</sc> cooling) all suggest that there was a close connection between the ELIP volcanic activity and this mass extinction event. The selective extinction of some biological groups can be well explained by the climate warming caused by the ELIP volcanic eruption. Meanwhile, the large-scale seawater regression, oceanic water anoxia, and sulfidic seawater upwelling might be important factors contributing to this mass extinction event. Therefore, the ELIP volcanic activity could have significantly affected the marine and terrestrial climate systems and was the main driving force caused the mass extinction event at the turn of the Middle-Late Permian.