Driven by the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province, Earth’s most laterally extensive Large Igneous Province, the end-Triassic mass extinction decimated life on land and in the oceans. To better understand the ecological and environmental perturbations of this event I use a suit of molecular fossils, termed biomarkers, and their isotopes that give a wealth of information at the lower trophic level. Additionally, I investigate Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons during this event to help disentangle terrestrial environmental perturbations such as wildfire activity and soil erosion.

Following the end-Triassic mass extinction, the Karroo Ferrar Large Igneous Province is the suspected driver of the Toarcian Anoxic event and the extinction surrounding the Pliensbachian-Toarcian. Using samples from the Southern hemisphere I am combining biomarker isotopic analyses with other geochemical proxies to better detail the carbon cycle perturbations during this event.