They have been attributed to a combination of magmatic activities and greenhouse gas release 2, 3, 5, 6. Major mass extinction events during the last 500 Ma of Earth’s history coincide with the eruptions of Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) 1, 2, 3, 4. We also suggest that similar emissions from oil-cracked CH 4 associated with the Siberian Traps Large Igneous Province may also have contributed to the end-Permian mass extinction significantly. We estimate the volume of oil-cracked CH 4 induced by the ELIP and argue that CH 4 emissions would have been sufficient to initiate global warming prior to the end of the Permian. We report evidence of high methane formation temperatures (between 249 −17/+19 and 256 −20/+22 ☌) from clumped methane measurements and mantle-derived signatures of noble gases, which verify that oil-cracked CH 4 and pyrobitumen are by-products within the reservoirs, associated with hydrothermal activity and enhanced heating by the ELIP. Here, we explore the source of methane in gas samples from central Sichuan Basin, which is within the Emeishan Large Igneous Province (ELIP). Methane (CH 4) emissions induced by Large Igneous Provinces have the potential to contribute to global environmental changes that triggered mass extinctions in Earth’s history.
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