The eruptions continued for roughly two million years and spanned the Permian–Triassic boundary, or P–T boundary, which occurred around 251.9 million years ago. The Siberian Traps are believed to be the primary cause of the Permian–Triassic extinction event, the most severe extinction event in the geologic record.[1][2][3][4] Subsequent periods of Siberian Traps activity have been linked to a number of smaller biotic crises, including the Smithian-Spathian, Olenekian-Anisian, Middle-Late Anisian, and Anisian-Ladinian extinction events.[5]
Large volumes of basalticlava covered a large expanse of Siberia in a flood basalt event. Today, the area is covered by about 7 million km2 (3 million sq mi) of basaltic rock, with a volume of around 4 million km3 (1 million cu mi).[6]
^Kamo, SL (2003). "Rapid eruption of Siberian flood-volcanic rocks and evidence for coincidence with the Permian–Triassic boundary and mass extinction at 251 Ma". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 214 (1–2): 75–91. Bibcode:2003E&PSL.214...75K. doi:10.1016/S0012-821X(03)00347-9.
^Ivanov, Alexei V.; He, Huayiu; Yan, Liekun; Ryabov, Viktor V.; Shevko, Artem Y.; Palesskii, Stanislav V.; Nikolaeva, Irina V. (2013). "Siberian Traps large igneous province: Evidence for two flood basalt pulses around the Permo-Triassic boundary and in the Middle Triassic, and contemporaneous granitic magmatism". Earth-Science Reviews. 122: 58–76. Bibcode:2013ESRv..122...58I. doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2013.04.001.