https://mapress.com/mz/issue/feed 2026-06-05T11:00:17+12:00 Diying Huang dyhuang@nigpas.ac.cn Open Journal Systems <p><em><strong>Mesozoic</strong></em> is an international peer-reviewed scientific journal, which publishes high quality, original research contributions as well as review papers. Papers are published in English and they cover a wide spectrum of topics in palaeoentomology, fossil terrestrial arthropods and amber research, i.e. systematic palaeontology, morphology, diversity, palaeogeography, palaeoecology, palaeobehavior, evolutionary and phylogenetic studies on fossil insects and terrestrial arthropods, biostratigraphy, taphonomy, and amber (deposits, inclusions, geochemistry, curation). Descriptions of new methods (analytical, instrumental or numerical) should be relevant to the broad scope of the journal.</p> https://mapress.com/mz/article/view/mesozoic.3.2.1 2026-06-04T10:54:03+12:00 LUKANG TANG lktang@nigpas.ac.cn HUA ZHANG hzhang@nigpas.ac.cn

<p>The Permian–Triassic transition (P–Tr, <em>ca</em>. 251.9 Ma) witnessed the most severe mass extinction of the Phanerozoic, triggered by intense volcanic activity and associated environmental catastrophes. Continental silicate weathering is central to understanding both the mechanisms of the extinction and the prolonged Early Triassic warmth, yet changes in its intensity and flux remain controversial. Lithium (Li) isotopes (δ7Li), a promising tracer of silicate weathering, have increasingly been applied to the P–Tr transition. However, δ7Li records from different sedimentary archives (marine carbonates, shales, cherts, and terrestrial clastic rocks) show stark discrepancies: some indicate rapid enhancement of chemical weathering, others invoke marine reverse weathering as the dominant control, and terrestrial evidence points to intensified physical erosion but suppressed chemical weathering. These contradictions arise because the marine δ7Li signal integrates multiple processes—continental weathering input, reverse weathering, and changes in the size of the oceanic Li reservoir—that cannot be disentangled by a single proxy. This review synthesises δ7Li records with the Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA), strontium (Sr) isotopes, osmium (Os) isotopes, and magnesium (Mg) isotopes across the P–Tr transition. We demonstrate a pronounced “intensity‑flux decoupling” in continental weathering, where traditional weathering indices (CIA) and terrestrial δ7Li indicate that chemical weathering intensity (measured as the chemical depletion fraction, W/D) did not increase globally and may have even decreased, while radiogenic Sr and Os isotopes record a sharp rise in the total terrigenous material flux. This paradox is reconciled with a regime of rapid physical erosion with limited chemical leaching, driven by vegetation collapse and a shortened hydrological cycle. Meanwhile, extreme Early Triassic marine δ7Li anomalies are largely controlled by enhanced reverse weathering and a likely reduced marine Li reservoir. A multi-proxy deconvolution framework thus allows a three-dimensional separation of weathering intensity, flux, and internal oceanic processes, offering a unified way to resolve current controversies. Future priorities include quantitative calibration of archive effects, systematic mapping of spatial heterogeneity, and numerical modelling of the marine Li cycle to advance quantitative understanding of Earth system crises in deep time.</p>

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