Shallow marine prokaryote ecosystems in the Boreal Ocean during the Permo-Triassic climate crisis and their recovery (RiS ID: 12307)

Lipid biomarker samples will be collected to reconstruct the microbial community and environmental conditions during the Late Permian mass extinction and in its aftermath with a focus on the recovery of the microbial ecosystem. The samples will complement the existing biomarker record that is constrained to the Late Permian and the earliest Triassic in the direct aftermath of the extinction event (Selmaneset, Lusitaniadalen, Kongressfjellet) or to preliminary samples from the Smithian/Spathian boundary (Ledalen). The project will allow for new insights into the timing and magnitude of the mass extinction and the ecosystem recovery. The results from this project will be integrated with settings from lower latitudes in the frame of my PhD thesis. This fieldwork is crucial to expand the latitudinal range and climatic settings that are studied in the thesis, as Svalbard will be the only high-latitudinal setting analyzed. Also, drone footage of the outcrops will be obtained, resulting in new and expanded high-resolution digital 3D models, which will be openly accessible and will contribute to the conservation of the Svalbard archipelago.