Is the Permian–Triassic Mass Extinction Related to the Siberian Traps?

The Siberian Traps are believed to play an essential role in the Permian–Triassic extinction event, although the link between these events is unclear. Plume ascent, its interaction with the lithosphere, and crustal rocks are considered as sources of volatile components that trigger mass extinction. Reliable estimations of the volumes of gases released during the basalt magma degassing that formed typical traps are few. In this work, the volatile contents in the parental melt of the Southern Maslovsky intrusion, which is a part of the PGE–Cu–Ni Maslovsky deposit in the Norilsk district in the Northwest Siberian Platform, were determined. The studied intrusion belongs to the ore-bearing Norilsk intrusive complex, which is coeval to the Morongovsky–Mokulaevsky Formations of the Siberian flood basalt province. The objects of this study were 8 silicate-melt inclusions in olivines from picritic gabbro-dolerites and 68 inclusions in clinopyroxenes, and 2 inclusions in olivines from olivine-bearing gabbro-dolerites. The composition of the parental melt in terms of major and trace element abundances was close to the main stage of the platform magmatism. The average volatile contents in melt inclusions were as follows: 4500 ppm H₂O and Cl 1333 ppm, followed by trace amounts of F 387 ppm, S 743 ppm, CO₂ 1279 ppm, and B 4.18 ppm, typical of within-plate magmas. In addition, the contacts of igneous rocks with sedimentary deposits (carbonate-terrigenous rocks and coals) demonstrate the occurrence of narrow zones of alteration and the absence of a significant volume of gases that could influence the process of species extinction. There is no strict evidence of the influence of the Siberian traps on the Permian–Triassic mass extinction.