Volume and rate of volcanic CO2 emissions governed the severity of past environmental crises

Massive volcanic eruptions termed large igneous provinces have been variously linked to catastrophic mass extinctions, linked to less severe oceanic anoxic events, or not associated with any environmental perturbation. It remains unclear what controls the severity of environmental perturbations caused by these magmatic events. This paper shows that the Kerguelen large igneous province was coeval with and may have contributed to the early Cretaceous oceanic anoxic event 1a. However, due to a lower volume and rate of CO₂ emissions compared with those of extinction-causing large igneous provinces, the environmental perturbation of the Kerguelen large igneous province is much less significant. This demonstrates the critical importance of reducing and slowing down CO₂ emissions in preventing disastrous environmental crises.