Sulfur geochemistry across a terrestrial Permian–Triassic boundary section in the Karoo Basin, South Africa

Concentrations of sulfur and carbon, and isotopic compositions of sulfur were determined in sedimentary rocks from a section across the terrestrial Permian–Triassic (P–Tr) boundary in the northern Karoo Basin, South Africa. High concentrations of sulfide produced by sulfate-reducing bacteria were found in the sedimentary rocks at and just below the perceived P–Tr boundary. The ratios of organic carbon to sulfide of the sedimentary rocks with high concentrations of sulfide are relatively constant and similar to those of marine environments. This means that the enhanced accumulation of sulfide is a result of the enrichment of sulfate in the water. As the sulfide concentrations do not correlate with concentrations of any major elements indicative of weathering intensity, the supply of sulfate was independent of environmental factors, such as temperature and CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere, which control weathering intensity. Therefore, it is reasonable to consider that the sulfate might have been supplied to the freshwater directly as acid rain by an event such as a bolide impact or a volcanic eruption. The absence of evidence for an impact event in the geological record, though, favors volcanic input as the cause of the acid rain.