Carbon and oxygen isotope record and sedimentology/facies across selected time slices in the Mid Paleozoic in Vietnam

• Applicant: Dr. Peter Königshof
• Subject Area: Palaeontology
• Term: from 2014 to 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 262627513

The Devonian was a time of dynamic long-term climate change and substantial changes in biodiversity. The rapid rise of land plants during the Middle Devonian was coupled with rapidly decreasing atmospheric CO2 values from 4000 ppm to nearly present day values of about 350 ppm during the latest Devonian. Reef ecosystems became extinct in the late Frasnian during the Frasnian/Famennian (F/F) mass extinction event. This event is one of the Big Five extinction events beside other events in the mid-Paleozoic. Most studies of mass extinction events are located around the Rheic Ocean, while other areas such as the Paleo-Tethys remain poorly documented. Our goal in this project is to use geochemical proxies to evaluate the presence of anoxic events associated with important extinctions in the mid-Paleozoic in basinal settings (sections in northern and southern Vietnam) and to compare the results with known data from elsewhere in Asia, particularly with South China. The results will contribute to a better understanding of climate variations and will improve carbon isotope stratigraphy of the Devonian and the Carboniferous.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Vietnam
• Participating Persons: Professor Dr. Michael M. Joachimski; Professor Dr. Phuong Tha Hoa