Establishing a robust timeframe for environmental change in the geological past through combined use of high-precision u-pb geochronology of zircon from volcanic ash layers and age-depth modelling

This thesis comprises a detailed study of practices on how to precisely and accurately establish long-distance correlations of biozones and evaluate causality between Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) and biotic and environmental crisis. More specifically, this thesis shows the importance of high-precision U-Pb geochronology when coupled with age-depth modelling, chemostratigraphy, and high-resolution biostratigraphy. A clear division of the geological time scale relies on accurate and precise long-distance correlations in order integrate geological information from various stratigraphic sections generally in disparate localities with the goal of piecing together Earth’s history.