Changes of palaeoenvironmental conditions recorded in Late Devonian reef systems from the Canning Basin, Western Australia: A biomarker and stable isotope approach Svenja Tulipani a, ⁎, Kliti Grice a, ⁎⁎, Paul F. Greenwood a,b , Peter W. Haines c , Peter E. Sauer d , Arndt Schimmelmann d , Roger E. Summons e , Clinton B. Foster f,g , Michael E. Böttcher h , Ted Playton i , Lorenz Schwark a,j a Western Australian Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre, The Institute for Geoscience Research, Department of Chemistry, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845, Australia b Centre for Exploration Targeting and Western Australian Biogeochemistry Centre, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia c Geological Survey of Western Australia, Department of Mines and Petroleum, 100 Plain Street, East Perth, WA 600, Australia d Department of Geological Sciences, Indiana University, 1001 East 10th Street, Bloomington, IN 47405-1405, USA e Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, MIT, E25-633, 45 Carleton Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA f Geoscience Australia, GPO Box 378, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia g School of Earth and Environment, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia h Geochemistry & Isotope Geochemistry Group, Marine Geology Department, Leibniz-Institute for Baltic Sea Research, Seestrasse 15, D-18119 Warnemünde, Germany i Chevron Energy Technology Company, Carbonate Stratigraphy Research & Development, 1500 Louisiana Street, Houston, TX 77002, USA j Institute of Geoscience, Kiel University, Ludewig-Meyn Str. 10, 24118 Kiel, Germany abstract article info Article history: Received 21 March 2014 Received in revised form 9 October 2014 Accepted 20 October 2014 Available online xxxx Handling Editor: M. Santosh Keywords: Late Devonian Thermal maturity MTTCs C/N preservation 4-Methylsteranes Although the Late Devonian extinctions were amongst the largest mass extinction events in the Phanerozoic, the causes, nature and timing of these events remain poorly restrained. In addition to the most pronounced biodiversity loss at the Frasnian–Famennian (F–F) boundary and the end Famennian, there were also less extensively studied extinction pulses in the Middle to Late Givetian and the Frasnian. Here we used a combination of palynological, elemental, molecular and stable isotope analyses to investigate a sedimentary record of reef-systems from this time period in the Canning Basin, Western Australia. The acquired data generally showed distinct variations between sediments from (i) the time around the Givetian–Frasnian (G–F) boundary and (ii) later in the Frasnian and indicated a distinct interval of biotic stress, particularly for reef-builders, in the older sediments. Alterations of pristane/phytane ratios, gammacerane indices, Chlorobi biomarkers, δD kerogen and chroman ratios describe the change from a restricted marine palaeoenvironment with an anoxic/euxinic hypolimnion towards a presumably open marine setting with a vertically mixed oxic to suboxic water column. Simultaneous excursions in δ 13 C profiles of carbonates, organic matter (OM) and hydrocarbons in the older sediments reflect the stratification-induced enhancement of OM- recycling by sulfate reducing bacteria. Alterations in sterane distributions and elevated abundances of methyltrimethyltridecylchromans (MTTCs) and perylene indicate an increased terrigenous nutrient input via riverine influx, which would have promoted stratification, phytoplankton blooms and the development of lower water column anoxia. The detected palaeoenvironmental conditions around the G–F boundary may reflect a local or global extinction event. Our data furthermore suggest a contribution of the higher plant-expansion and photic zone euxinia to the Late Devonian extinctions, consistent with previous hypotheses. Furthermore, this work might contribute to the understanding of variations in Devonian reef margin and platform-top architecture, relevant for petroleum exploration and development in the global Devonian hydrocarbon resources. © 2014 International Association for Gondwana Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction In the Late Devonian period some of the biggest mass extinctions in Earth's history ultimately wiped out the extensive reef systems prominent throughout that era (Sepkoski, 1986, 1993; Walliser, 1996; Bambach, 2006). The most pronounced extinction occurred at the Frasnian–Famennian (F–F) boundary; however there were also distinct biodiversity crises towards the end of the Givetian and Famennian Gondwana Research xxx (2014) xxx–xxx ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 8 9266 7628. ⁎⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 8 9266 2474. E-mail addresses: s.tulipani@curtin.edu.au (S. Tulipani), k.grice@curtin.edu.au (K. Grice). GR-01341; No of Pages 16 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2014.10.003 1342-937X/© 2014 International Association for Gondwana Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Gondwana Research journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/gr Please cite this article as: Tulipani, S., et al., Changes of palaeoenvironmental conditions recorded in Late Devonian reef systems from the Canning Basin, Western Australia: A biomarker and stable isotope approach, Gondwana Research (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2014.10.003