End-Permian catastrophicevent of marine acidification by hydrated sulfuric acid: Mineralogical evide

The event Permian-Triassic boundary (EPTB) is well marked by the famous "white clay" of bed 25 in Meishan section located in Changxing county, Zhejiang province of China. In this paper, the white clay as well as its overlying and underlying sequences is investigated particularly for mineralogical records. The investigation yields three findings that contribute to better understanding the scenario of the EPTB mass extinction. 1) A red goethite-rich microlayer (0.3 mm) is first recognized to be horizontally widespread on the base of the white clay in the section. The microlayer should be considered as a macro geochemical indicator naturally tracing a catastrophic initiation at the EPTB. 2) An interruption of marine carbonate deposition is discovered due to blank of carbonate minerals in the white clay. The discovery provides significant evidence of a marine acidification event that would occur in the paleo-ocean with marine acidity estimated at pH