Hollaar et al (2026) End-Triassic Wildfire and Palynomorph Data

A 119.4 KB Excel dataset analyzing evidence for widespread wildfires during the end-Triassic mass extinction approximately 200 million years ago. The data, authored by Bas van de Schootbrugge and published in 2026, includes a Palynomorph Darkening Index derived from fossil spores and pollen, alongside micro-charcoal and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon records from drill cores in Germany, Luxemburg, Denmark, and the United Kingdom.

Use Cases

• Modeling the relationship between volcanic CO2 emissions, climate change, and wildfire frequency based on the described correlation.
• Analyzing the link between palynomorph darkening and surface fire activity based on the Palynomorph Darkening Index.
• Investigating the transition from forest to fern savannah ecosystems during a mass extinction event based on pollen and spore data.
• Correlating wildfire evidence (micro-charcoal, PAHs) across multiple European locations to assess continental-scale event synchronicity.

Strengths

• Data is openly licensed under CC-BY-4.0.
• Analysis integrates multiple proxy records (palynomorph darkening, micro-charcoal, PAHs) for wildfire activity.
• Samples are derived from drill cores across four European countries, suggesting a multi-site analysis.

Limitations

• The dataset is very small at 119.4 KB, indicating limited scope.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

figshare

Collection Method

Data likely derived from laboratory analysis of palynological samples and organic geochemistry from drill cores.

Time Range

Latest Triassic period, focusing on the end-Triassic mass extinction event.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-06 23:41:53.

Geography

Drill core locations in Germany, Luxemburg, Denmark, and the United Kingdom.