The late Pliensbachian to early Toarcian was characterized by major climatic and environmental changes, encompassing the early Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE, or Jenkyns Event, ∼183 Ma) and the preceding Pliensbachian–Toarcian boundary event (Pl/To). Information on seawater redox conditions through this time interval has thus far come mainly from European sections deposited in hydrographically restricted basins, and hence our understanding of the redox evolution of the open ocean (and in particular Panthalassa – the largest ocean to have existed) is limited. Here, we present high-resolution Fe-speciation and redox-sensitive trace metal data from two Panthalassic Ocean sections across the Pl/To and the T-OAE intervals, one deposited in deep water (paleo-water depth >∼2.7 km) and the other on a shallow margin (paleo-water depth likely <∼50 m). Data from the deep-water open-ocean site indicate anoxic-ferruginous conditions from the late Pliensbachian to the onset of the T-OAE, with a rather fluctuating redox state alternating between oxic and anoxic/euxinic conditions across the Pl/To boundary. At least intermittent bottom-water euxinia characterized the T-OAE, followed by a subsequent transition toward more oxygenated conditions. By contrast, trace metal data from the shallow margin site indicate that oxygenated to possibly suboxic conditions prevailed. However, elevated highly reactive iron contents, dominated by Fe (oxyhydr)oxides, characterize this shallow-water site. These observations suggest that upwelling, driven in part by increased sea level and prevailing winds from the open ocean, brought anoxic-ferruginous waters onto the shelf, whereupon Fe2+ oxidation was initiated in oxic shallow waters.

Chemical weathering is an important process at Earth's surface. Given that the chemical composition of sediments reflects the weathering environment in which they were generated, this can provide insights into the intensity and style of weathering during the past. Weathering indices calculated from the whole-rock geochemical compositions of sedimentary rocks are widely used. However, these indices have limitations, such as contamination by non-silicate minerals. To develop a weathering index widely applicable to sedimentary rocks formed under various conditions, we used compositional data and multivariate statistics to analyse a dataset for igneous rocks and their weathering profiles. The chemical variations of the igneous rocks and weathering trends were independently extracted from the dataset, and a new weathering index (the robust weathering (RW) index) is proposed. The applicability of the RW index was assessed using saprolite profiles and zonal soils. We further applied the RW index to a carbonate-rich paleosol to test its use in studies of paleoclimate. The RW index is robust even for sediments containing a large amount of non-silicate materials, and thus enables comparison of the weathering intensity of a wide range of sedimentary rocks. Spatial–temporal reconstructions of paleo-weathering conditions will be improved by applying the RW index to terrestrial and marine sediments.

The early Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE, ~183 Ma) was characterized by marine deoxygenation and the burial of organic-rich sediments at numerous localities worldwide. However, the extent of marine anoxia and its impact on the sulfur cycle during the T-OAE is currently poorly understood. Here, stable sulfur isotopes of reduced metal-bound sulfur (δ34Spyrite) and pyrite sulfur concentrations (SPY) have been analyzed across the Pliensbachian-Toarcian boundary (Pl-To) and the T-OAE from the Sakahogi and Sakuraguchi-dani sections (Japan), which were deposited in the deep and shallow Panthalassic Ocean, respectively. Our data reveal marked positive δ34Spyrite excursions of >10‰ across both the Pl-To and the T-OAE at Sakahogi, coincident with increases in SPY, and a positive excursion of >20‰ at the onset of the T-OAE at Sakuraguchi-dani. Whilst the development of deep-water anoxic/euxinic conditions could have resulted in an enhanced burial of pyrite, and also partly contributed to the positive excursion of δ34Spyrite, variations in δ34Spyrite at Sakahogi were most likely controlled by elevated export production and/or preservation. On the shallow shelf generally low and highly variable SPY and the positive shift in δ34Spyrite were likely attributable mainly to elevated sedimentation rates, with redox playing only a minor role in controlling pyrite abundance. Our discovery of a positive δ34Spyrite excursion across the Pl-To at Sakahogi indicates a hitherto unrecognized perturbation to the deep-water sulfur cycle, potentially associated with increased seafloor organic matter flux and pyrite burial at this time, consistent with a transient interval of anoxia.

In the Late Triassic, a global environmental change called the Carnian Pluvial Episode (CPE) emerged, causing major biological turnover. The CPE has been recognized by siliciclastic input to sedimentary basins, multiple carbon isotope perturbations, and climate proxies for humidification. The CPE is considered to have been associated with increased atmospheric pCO2 from eruptions of large igneous provinces. However, the nature of this global environmental perturbation on the continents is still not well understood. Here we present a geochemical analysis of a pelagic deep-sea bedded chert sequence across the CPE in the Jurassic accretionary complex of Mino terrane, central Japan. Fluctuations in terrigenous material supply were reconstructed using Principal Component Analysis of major element compositions. The first principal component positively correlates with elements enriched in clay minerals such as Al2O3, whereas it negatively correlates with CaO, P2O5, and MnO, derived from apatite and manganese. A sudden increase in terrigenous supply was detected around the Julian/Tuvalian boundary, suggesting that CPE-related siliciclastic input also occurred in the abyssal plain environment. The terrigenous supply returned to the pre-CPE state in the Tuvalian. Since the terrigenous material supplied to the abyssal plain is thought to be derived from eolian dust blown from continental arid regions, the increasing terrigenous supply detected in the pelagic deep-sea chert succession may indicate extensive aridification. This result seems to conflict with the common view of the CPE as a humidification event. This contradiction possibly suggests that the extensive aridification occurred within the interior of the supercontinent Pangea, while hydrological circulation enhanced on the coastal region during the CPE.

The early Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE, or Jenkyns Event, ~183 million years ago) was a major hyperthermal and global carbon-cycle perturbation, likely associated with the release of a substantial volume of 12C-enriched carbon to the Earth's surface. Seawater deoxygenation and the associated deposition of organic-rich facies during this event have been noted in many locations around the world, but evidence for pervasive and extreme oceanic anoxia has thus far been described mainly from European sections deposited in hydrographically restricted basins. Here we present new geochemical data on redox changes during the T-OAE, as well as the preceding Pliensbachian-Toarcian boundary (Pl/To) event, from a deep Panthalassic Ocean site at Inuyama, Japan. Redox-sensitive trace element data reveal an extended interval of seawater deoxygenation that began prior to the Pl/To and continued to the end of the T-OAE. A marked expansion of anoxic and possibly euxinic conditions to the seafloor occurred during both the Pl/To and T-OAE, accompanied by increased organic carbon burial. During these intervals of severe deep-ocean deoxygenation, our data suggest a global drawdown of trace elements such as Mo, U and As. Our findings highlight that: (1) the Panthalassic Ocean was likely an important locus of deoxygenation and organic carbon burial during the early Toarcian, and (2) the spread of anoxia during the T-OAE was a globally distributed phenomenon.