A ~60 Myr periodicity is common to marine-87Sr/86Sr, fossil biodiversity, and large-scale sedimentation: what does the periodicity reflect?

We find that the marine 87 Sr/ 86 Sr record shows a significant periodicity of 59.3 ± 3 Myr. The 87 Sr/ 86 Sr record is 171° ± 12°out of phase with a 62 (± 3) Myr periodicity previously reported in the record of marine-animal diversity. These periodicities are close to 58 (± 4) Myr cycles found for the number of gap-bounded sedimentary carbonate packages of North America We propose that these periodicities reflect the operation of a periodic " pulse of the Earth " in large-scale, Earth processes. These may be linked to mantle or plate-tectonic events, possibly uplift, which affects Earth's climate and oceans, and so the geochemistry, sedimentation, and biodiversity of the marine realm. Online enhancement: Appendix on methodology and related results 2 2 Introduction It has frequently been suggested that large-scale geological phenomena may be the driver for large-scale evolutionary change that is revealed in the fossil record; for example, that the emplacement of large igneous-provinces may drive mass extinctions (e.g. Courtillot et al., 1996). Possible connections between large-scale tectonic phenomena, the fossil record, and the record of marine