PermTrias

PermTrias is a multidisciplinary research initiative focused on the Permian-Triassic boundary and the events surrounding Earth's most severe mass extinction, which occurred about 252 million years ago. The project coordinates field geology, paleontology, geochemistry, and climate science to improve the resolution of the extinction timeline, identify potential triggers, and illuminate patterns of ecosystem recovery.

Established in 2015 by a consortium of universities, national laboratories, and natural history museums, PermTrias operates through collaborative working groups and shared data resources. Its stated goals include standardizing stratigraphic correlations across regions, compiling global datasets of fossils and isotopic records, and developing an integrated timescale for the Permian and Triassic periods. The initiative also supports open-access data releases and joint field campaigns.

Activities include field expeditions to key Permian-Triassic sections, laboratory analyses of carbon and sulfur isotopes, microfossil studies, mineralogical investigations, and climate-modeling experiments to simulate perturbations in the carbon cycle. The project maintains a centralized data portal hosting stratigraphic curves, radiometric ages, fossil inventories, and geochemical proxies to facilitate cross-study comparisons.

Governance is provided by a rotating steering committee drawn from participating institutions, with formal working groups in stratigraphy, paleobiology, geochemistry, and modeling. PermTrias also hosts an annual workshop and collaborates with international programs studying the Permian-Triassic boundary. The approach emphasizes transparency, reproducibility, and interdisciplinary training of early-career scientists.

PermTrias contributions have helped refine the timing of key boundary events and advanced theories about volcanic activity, climate warming, and ocean anoxia as drivers of the crisis. The initiative is regarded as a model for large-scale, data-driven collaboration in Earth science, though debates continue over the relative importance of competing mechanisms.