Astronomical control on marine anoxia during the Kellwasser Crisis and Rhinestreet Event (Appalachian Basin, New York, USA)
Huygh, J.J.C.; Algeo, T.J.; Sageman, B.B.; Arts, M.; Ver Straeten, C.A.; Over, D.J.; Gerard, J.; Sablon, L.; Crucifix, M.; Da Silva, A. (2026). Astronomical control on marine anoxia during the Kellwasser Crisis and Rhinestreet Event (Appalachian Basin, New York, USA). Global Planet. Change 257: 105216. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2025.105216
In: Global and Planetary Change. Elsevier: Amsterdam; New York; Oxford; Tokyo. ISSN 0921-8181; e-ISSN 1872-6364, meer
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| Author keywords |
Cyclostratigraphy;Devonian;Frasnian-Famennian boundary;West Valley core;Black shale;Orbital forcing;biogeochemical cycles;climate;carbon;perspectives;evolution;obliquity;trigger;impact;record;shales |
| Auteurs | | Top |
- Huygh, J.J.C.
- Algeo, T.J.
- Sageman, B.B.
- Arts, M.
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- Ver Straeten, C.A.
- Over, D.J.
- Gerard, J.
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- Sablon, L.
- Crucifix, M.
- Da Silva, A., meer
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| Abstract |
The Kellwasser Crisis near the Frasnian-Famennian boundary (similar to 372 Ma) is linked to one of the major Phanerozoic biodiversity crises. It is associated with sea-level changes, carbon-cycle perturbations, and pulsed oceanic anoxia, that led to black shale deposition characterized by positive carbon isotope excursions, akin to the Kellwasser horizons in Germany. Despite growing evidence of astronomically forced climatic stresses influencing Devonian marine systems, the trigger mechanism(s) of the Kellwasser Event remain debated. The West Valley core (WVC) comprises middle Frasnian to lower Famennian strata, including the Rhinestreet and Kellwasser events, characterized by black shales, elevated total organic carbon (TOC) content, and a positive delta C-13(org) carbon isotope excursion in the Kellwasser Crisis interval. In this work, we performed cyclostratigraphic analysis of Ti, Ti/Al and TOC, which reveals a strong astronomical imprint, particularly eccentricity amplitude modulation patterns. The TOC record was tuned to the stable 405-kyr eccentricity period, yielding a 5.67-Myr-long floating astrochronology, with event durations for the Rhinestreet and Kellwasser intervals consistent with previous reports. Subsequent analysis confirmed an equally strong eccentricity imprint on the titanium content, strongly implying a link between organic matter preservation, detrital sediment supply and astronomical forcing. Additionally, a dominant imprint of the 1.2-Myr and 2.4-Myr obliquity cycles on sea-level variation supports astronomical control on the Kellwasser Crisis. Finally, new insights into the phase relationship between the Rhinestreet and Kellwasser events and astronomically forced climate changes are globally contextualized within a new cyclostratigraphic model, emphasizing the role of eccentricity and obliquity in pacing marine anoxia. |
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