Altered river morphology in South Africa related to the Permian-Triassic extinction

The Permian-Triassic transition in the Karoo Basin of South Africa was char acterized by a rapid and apparently basin-wide change from meandering to br aided river systems, as evidenced by preserved sedimentary facies. This rad ical changeover in river morphology is consistent with geomorphic consequen ces stemming from a rapid and major die-off of rooted plant Life in the bas in. Evidence from correlative nonmarine strata elsewhere in the world conta ining fluvial Permian-Triassic boundary sections suggests that a catastroph ic terrestrial die-off of vegetation was a global event, producing a marked increase in sediment yield as well as contributing to the global delta(13) C excursion across the Permian-Triassic boundary.