Platinum element group variations at the Permo–Triassic boundary in Kashmir and British Columbia and their significance

The end Permian marks the greatest extinction in the geological record, but there is no consensus on whether it was caused by terrestrial or extraterrestrial factors. Platinum group elements (PGE) can readily separate extraterrestrial from terrestrial sources and the few studies so far (from China and Europe) indicate terrestrial sources for the PGE. We report here detailed PGE analyses of two expanded sections from the late Permian northern and...