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Liu Y, Zhang J, Zuo H, He Z, Guo J, Lin Q, Yu H, Lan J, Han J, Song Z, Yin Z, Zhao L, Hu Y, Guo Z. Spatial continuous modeling of early Cenozoic carbon cycle and climate. Natl Sci Rev 2024; 11:nwae061. [PMID: 38516036 PMCID: PMC10957155 DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwae061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Revised: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 02/18/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024] Open
Abstract
A real spatial continuous modeling of climate and carbon cycle is developed, and tested for early Cenozoic from 60 Ma to 40 Ma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yonggang Liu
- Laboratory for Climate and Ocean-Atmosphere Studies, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, School of Physics, Peking University, China
| | - Jian Zhang
- Laboratory for Climate and Ocean-Atmosphere Studies, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, School of Physics, Peking University, China
| | - Haoyue Zuo
- Laboratory for Climate and Ocean-Atmosphere Studies, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, School of Physics, Peking University, China
| | - Zhilin He
- Key Laboratory of Cenozoic Geology and Environment, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
| | - Jiaqi Guo
- Laboratory for Climate and Ocean-Atmosphere Studies, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, School of Physics, Peking University, China
| | - Qifan Lin
- Laboratory for Climate and Ocean-Atmosphere Studies, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, School of Physics, Peking University, China
| | - Haonan Yu
- Laboratory for Climate and Ocean-Atmosphere Studies, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, School of Physics, Peking University, China
| | - Jiawenjing Lan
- Laboratory for Climate and Ocean-Atmosphere Studies, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, School of Physics, Peking University, China
| | - Jing Han
- Laboratory for Climate and Ocean-Atmosphere Studies, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, School of Physics, Peking University, China
| | - Zhihong Song
- Laboratory for Climate and Ocean-Atmosphere Studies, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, School of Physics, Peking University, China
| | - Zihan Yin
- Laboratory for Climate and Ocean-Atmosphere Studies, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, School of Physics, Peking University, China
| | - Liang Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
| | - Yongyun Hu
- Laboratory for Climate and Ocean-Atmosphere Studies, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, School of Physics, Peking University, China
| | - Zhengtang Guo
- Key Laboratory of Cenozoic Geology and Environment, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
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2
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Kemeny PC, Torres MA, Fischer WW, Blättler CL. Balance and imbalance in biogeochemical cycles reflect the operation of closed, exchange, and open sets. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2316535121. [PMID: 38478696 PMCID: PMC10962936 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2316535121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 03/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Biogeochemical reactions modulate the chemical composition of the oceans and atmosphere, providing feedbacks that sustain planetary habitability over geological time. Here, we mathematically evaluate a suite of biogeochemical processes to identify combinations of reactions that stabilize atmospheric carbon dioxide by balancing fluxes of chemical species among the ocean, atmosphere, and geosphere. Unlike prior modeling efforts, this approach does not prescribe functional relationships between the rates of biogeochemical processes and environmental conditions. Our agnostic framework generates three types of stable reaction combinations: closed sets, where sources and sinks mutually cancel for all chemical reservoirs; exchange sets, where constant ocean-atmosphere conditions are maintained through the growth or destruction of crustal reservoirs; and open sets, where balance in alkalinity and carbon fluxes is accommodated by changes in other chemical components of seawater or the atmosphere. These three modes of operation have different characteristic timescales and may leave distinct evidence in the rock record. To provide a practical example of this theoretical framework, we applied the model to recast existing hypotheses for Cenozoic climate change based on feedbacks or shared forcing mechanisms. Overall, this work provides a systematic and simplified conceptual framework for understanding the function and evolution of global biogeochemical cycles.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mark A. Torres
- Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, Rice University, Houston, TX
| | - Woodward W. Fischer
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
| | - Clara L. Blättler
- Department of the Geophysical Sciences, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
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3
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Bufe A, Rugenstein JKC, Hovius N. CO 2 drawdown from weathering is maximized at moderate erosion rates. Science 2024; 383:1075-1080. [PMID: 38452079 DOI: 10.1126/science.adk0957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/02/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
Uplift and erosion modulate the carbon cycle over geologic timescales by exposing minerals to chemical weathering. However, the erosion sensitivity of mineral weathering remains difficult to quantify. Solute-chemistry datasets from mountain streams in different orogens isolate the impact of erosion on silicate weathering-a carbon dioxide (CO2) sink-and coupled sulfide and carbonate weathering-a CO2 source. Contrasting erosion sensitivities of these reactions produce a CO2-drawdown maximum at erosion rates of ~0.07 millimeters per year. Thus, landscapes with moderate uplift rates bolster Earth's inorganic CO2 sink, whereas more rapid uplift decreases or even reverses CO2 sequestration. This concept of an "erosion optimum" for CO2 drawdown reconciles conflicting views on the impact of mountain building on the carbon cycle and permits estimates of geologic CO2 fluxes dependent upon tectonic changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron Bufe
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, 80333, Germany
| | | | - Niels Hovius
- GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences, Potsdam, 14473, Germany
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, 14476, Germany
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4
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Clark PU, Shakun JD, Rosenthal Y, Köhler P, Bartlein PJ. Global and regional temperature change over the past 4.5 million years. Science 2024; 383:884-890. [PMID: 38386742 DOI: 10.1126/science.adi1908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
Much of our understanding of Cenozoic climate is based on the record of δ18O measured in benthic foraminifera. However, this measurement reflects a combined signal of global temperature and sea level, thus preventing a clear understanding of the interactions and feedbacks of the climate system in causing global temperature change. Our new reconstruction of temperature change over the past 4.5 million years includes two phases of long-term cooling, with the second phase of accelerated cooling during the Middle Pleistocene Transition (1.5 to 0.9 million years ago) being accompanied by a transition from dominant 41,000-year low-amplitude periodicity to dominant 100,000-year high-amplitude periodicity. Changes in the rates of long-term cooling and variability are consistent with changes in the carbon cycle driven initially by geologic processes, followed by additional changes in the Southern Ocean carbon cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter U Clark
- College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
- School of Geography and Environmental Sciences, University of Ulster, Coleraine BT52 1SA, Northern Ireland, UK
| | - Jeremy D Shakun
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA
| | - Yair Rosenthal
- Department of Marine and Coastal Science, Rutgers The State University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers The State University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
| | - Peter Köhler
- Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
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5
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Rahman S, Trower EJ. Probing surface Earth reactive silica cycling using stable Si isotopes: Mass balance, fluxes, and deep time implications. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadi2440. [PMID: 38055818 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adi2440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 12/08/2023]
Abstract
Geological reservoir δ30Si values have increasingly been applied as paleoclimate and paleoproductivity proxies. Many of these applications rely on the assumption that the surface Earth Si isotope budget is in mass balance with bulk silicate Earth, such that trends in δ30Si over time can be attributed to changes in flux to or from key silica reservoirs. We compiled δ30Si data from modern reservoirs representing the major sources and sinks of surface Earth reactive silica, to which we applied an inverse model to test assumptions about mass balance. We found that δ30Si values of reverse weathering products must closely match those of diatoms, conflicting with previous assumptions. Model results also revealed that of the 19 to 21 teramoles per year Si released during silicate mineral weathering, ~10 to 18 teramoles per year is stored in terrestrial silica sinks, consistent with assumptions of incongruent weathering reactions. Our results demonstrated that the modern silica cycle summary is in isotopic mass balance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaily Rahman
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
- Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Elizabeth J Trower
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
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6
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Martin PE, Macdonald FA, McQuarrie N, Flowers RM, Maffre PJY. The rise of New Guinea and the fall of Neogene global temperatures. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2306492120. [PMID: 37748068 PMCID: PMC10556579 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2306492120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2023] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The ~2,000-km-long Central Range of New Guinea is a hotspot of modern carbon sequestration due to the chemical weathering of igneous rocks with steep topography in the warm wet tropics. These high mountains formed in a collision between the Australian plate and ophiolite-bearing volcanic arc terranes, but poor resolution of the uplift and exhumation history has precluded assessments of the impact on global climate change. Here, we develop a palinspastic reconstruction of the Central Range orogen with existing surface geological constraints and seismic data to generate time-temperature paths and estimate volumes of eroded material. New (U-Th)/He thermochronology data reveal rapid uplift and regional denudation between 10 and 6 Mya. Erosion fluxes from the palinspastic reconstruction, calibrated for time with the thermochronological data, were used as input to a coupled global climate and weathering model. This model estimates 0.6 to 1.2 °C of cooling associated with the Late Miocene rise of New Guinea due to increased silicate weathering alone, and this CO2 sink continues to the present. Our data and modeling experiments support the hypothesis that tropical arc-continent collision and the rise of New Guinea contributed to Neogene cooling due to increased silicate weathering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter E. Martin
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO80309
| | | | - Nadine McQuarrie
- Department of Geology and Environmental Science, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA15260
| | - Rebecca M. Flowers
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO80309
| | - Pierre J. Y. Maffre
- Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA94720
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Institut de Recherche et Développement (IRD), Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (INRAE), Collège de France, Centre de Recherche et d'Enseignement en Géosciences et Environnement (CEREGE), 13545Aix-en-Provence, France
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7
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Wilf P, Kooyman RM. Do Southeast Asia's paleo-Antarctic trees cool the planet? THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2023. [PMID: 37369251 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023]
Abstract
Many tree genera in the Malesian uplands have Southern Hemisphere origins, often supported by austral fossil records. Weathering the vast bedrock exposures in the everwet Malesian tropics may have consumed sufficient atmospheric CO2 to contribute significantly to global cooling over the past 15 Myr. However, there has been no discussion of how the distinctive regional tree assemblages may have enhanced weathering and contributed to this process. We postulate that Gondwanan-sourced tree lineages that can dominate higher-elevation forests played an overlooked role in the Neogene CO2 drawdown that led to the Ice Ages and the current, now-precarious climate state. Moreover, several historically abundant conifers in Araucariaceae and Podocarpaceae are likely to have made an outsized contribution through soil acidification that increases weathering. If the widespread destruction of Malesian lowland forests continues to spread into the uplands, the losses will threaten unique austral plant assemblages and, if our hypothesis is correct, a carbon sequestration engine that could contribute to cooler planetary conditions far into the future. Immediate effects include the spread of heat islands, significant losses of biomass carbon and forest-dependent biodiversity, erosion of watershed values, and the destruction of tens of millions of years of evolutionary history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Wilf
- Department of Geosciences and Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
| | - Robert M Kooyman
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia
- Research Centre for Ecosystem Resilience, Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia
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8
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Chang Q, Hren MT, Lai LSH, Dorsey RJ, Byrne TB. Rapid topographic growth of the Taiwan orogen since ~1.3-1.5 Ma. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eade6415. [PMID: 37352341 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ade6415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 05/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/25/2023]
Abstract
We present the first paleotopographic reconstruction of Taiwan by measuring the hydrogen isotope composition of leaf waxes (δ2HnC29) preserved in 3-Ma and younger sediments of the southern Coastal Range. Plant leaf waxes record the δ2H of precipitation during formation, which is related to elevation. Leaf waxes produced across the orogen are transported and deposited in adjacent sedimentary basins, providing deep-time records of the source elevation of detrital organic matter. δ2HnC29 exported from the southern Taiwan orogen decreased by more than 40‰ since ~1.3-1.5 Ma, indicating an increase of >2 kilometers in the organic source elevation. The increase in organic source elevation is best explained by rapid surface uplift of the southern Central Range at around ~1.3-1.5 Ma and indicates that this part of the orogen was characterized by maximum elevations of at least 3 km at this time. Further increase in organic source elevation from ~0.85 to ~0.3 Ma indicates continued topographic growth to modern elevations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Queenie Chang
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
- Earth and Environmental Sciences Department, Denison University, Granville, OH, USA
| | - Michael T Hren
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| | - Larry Syu-Heng Lai
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
- Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Rebecca J Dorsey
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
| | - Timothy B Byrne
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
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9
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Bayon G, Patriat M, Godderis Y, Trinquier A, De Deckker P, Kulhanek DK, Holbourn A, Rosenthal Y. Accelerated mafic weathering in Southeast Asia linked to late Neogene cooling. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadf3141. [PMID: 36989371 PMCID: PMC10058235 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adf3141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2022] [Accepted: 03/01/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Arc-continent collision in Southeast Asia during the Neogene may have driven global cooling through chemical weathering of freshly exposed ophiolites resulting in atmospheric CO2 removal. Yet, little is known about the cause-and-effect relationships between erosion and the long-term evolution of tectonics and climate in this region. Here, we present an 8-million-year record of seawater chemistry and sediment provenance from the eastern Indian Ocean, near the outflow of Indonesian Throughflow waters. Using geochemical analyses of foraminiferal shells and grain size-specific detrital fractions, we show that erosion and chemical weathering of ophiolitic rocks markedly increased after 4 million years (Ma), coincident with widespread island emergence and gradual strengthening of Pacific zonal sea-surface temperature gradients. Together with supportive evidence for enhanced mafic weathering at that time from re-analysis of the seawater 87Sr/86Sr curve, this finding suggests that island uplift and hydroclimate change in the western Pacific contributed to maintaining high atmospheric CO2 consumption throughout the late Neogene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Germain Bayon
- Univ Brest, CNRS, Ifremer, Geo-Ocean, F-29280 Plouzané, France
| | - Martin Patriat
- Univ Brest, CNRS, Ifremer, Geo-Ocean, F-29280 Plouzané, France
| | - Yves Godderis
- Géosciences-Environnement Toulouse, CNRS-Université Paul Sabatier, F-31400 Toulouse, France
| | - Anne Trinquier
- Univ Brest, CNRS, Ifremer, Geo-Ocean, F-29280 Plouzané, France
| | - Patrick De Deckker
- The Australian National University, Research School of Earth Sciences, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Denise K. Kulhanek
- Institute of Geosciences, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, 24118 Kiel, Germany
| | - Ann Holbourn
- Institute of Geosciences, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, 24118 Kiel, Germany
| | - Yair Rosenthal
- Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences and Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers, State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
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10
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Pu JP, Macdonald FA, Schmitz MD, Rainbird RH, Bleeker W, Peak BA, Flowers RM, Hoffman PF, Rioux M, Hamilton MA. Emplacement of the Franklin large igneous province and initiation of the Sturtian Snowball Earth. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eadc9430. [PMID: 36417531 PMCID: PMC9683727 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adc9430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
During the Cryogenian (720 to 635 Ma ago) Snowball Earth glaciations, ice extended to sea level near the equator. The cause of this catastrophic failure of Earth's thermostat has been unclear, but previous geochronology has suggested a rough coincidence of glacial onset with one of the largest magmatic episodes in the geological record, the Franklin large igneous province. U-Pb geochronology on zircon and baddeleyite from sills associated with the paleo-equatorial Franklin large igneous province in Arctic Canada record rapid emplacement between 719.86 ± 0.21 and 718.61 ± 0.30 Ma ago, 0.9 to 1.6 Ma before the onset of widespread glaciation. Geologic observations and (U-Th)/He dates on Franklin sills are compatible with major post-Franklin exhumation, possibly due to development of mafic volcanic highlands on windward equatorial Laurentia and increased global weatherability. After a transient magmatic CO2 flux, long-term carbon sequestration associated with increased weatherability could have nudged Earth over the threshold for runaway ice-albedo feedback.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judy P. Pu
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Earth Science, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Francis A. Macdonald
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Earth Science, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Mark D. Schmitz
- Department of Geosciences, Boise State University, Boise, ID, USA
| | | | | | - Barra A. Peak
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Rebecca M. Flowers
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Paul F. Hoffman
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Matthew Rioux
- Department of Earth Science, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Michael A. Hamilton
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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11
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Herbert TD, Dalton CA, Liu Z, Salazar A, Si W, Wilson DS. Tectonic degassing drove global temperature trends since 20 Ma. Science 2022; 377:116-119. [PMID: 35771904 DOI: 10.1126/science.abl4353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
The Miocene Climatic Optimum (MCO) from ~17 to 14 million years ago (Ma) represents an enigmatic reversal in Cenozoic cooling. A synthesis of marine paleotemperature records shows that the MCO was a local maximum in global sea surface temperature superimposed on a period from at least 19 Ma to 10 Ma, during which global temperatures were on the order of 10°C warmer than at present. Our high-resolution global reconstruction of ocean crustal production, a proxy for tectonic degassing of carbon, suggests that crustal production rates were ~35% higher than modern rates until ~14 Ma, when production began to decline steeply along with global temperatures. The magnitude and timing of the inferred changes in tectonic degassing can account for the majority of long-term ice sheet and global temperature evolution since 20 Ma.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Zhonghui Liu
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Andrea Salazar
- Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Weimin Si
- DEEPS, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - Douglas S Wilson
- Department of Earth Science, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
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12
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Müller RD, Mather B, Dutkiewicz A, Keller T, Merdith A, Gonzalez CM, Gorczyk W, Zahirovic S. Evolution of Earth's tectonic carbon conveyor belt. Nature 2022; 605:629-639. [PMID: 35614243 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04420-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2020] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Concealed deep beneath the oceans is a carbon conveyor belt, propelled by plate tectonics. Our understanding of its modern functioning is underpinned by direct observations, but its variability through time has been poorly quantified. Here we reconstruct oceanic plate carbon reservoirs and track the fate of subducted carbon using thermodynamic modelling. In the Mesozoic era, 250 to 66 million years ago, plate tectonic processes had a pivotal role in driving climate change. Triassic-Jurassic period cooling correlates with a reduction in solid Earth outgassing, whereas Cretaceous period greenhouse conditions can be linked to a doubling in outgassing, driven by high-speed plate tectonics. The associated 'carbon subduction superflux' into the subcontinental mantle may have sparked North American diamond formation. In the Cenozoic era, continental collisions slowed seafloor spreading, reducing tectonically driven outgassing, while deep-sea carbonate sediments emerged as the Earth's largest carbon sink. Subduction and devolatilization of this reservoir beneath volcanic arcs led to a Cenozoic increase in carbon outgassing, surpassing mid-ocean ridges as the dominant source of carbon emissions 20 million years ago. An increase in solid Earth carbon emissions during Cenozoic cooling requires an increase in continental silicate weathering flux to draw down atmospheric carbon dioxide, challenging previous views and providing boundary conditions for future carbon cycle models.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Dietmar Müller
- EarthByte Group, School of Geosciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
| | - Ben Mather
- EarthByte Group, School of Geosciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Adriana Dutkiewicz
- EarthByte Group, School of Geosciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Tobias Keller
- School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland
| | - Andrew Merdith
- School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Christopher M Gonzalez
- Centre for Exploration Targeting, School of Earth Science, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Weronika Gorczyk
- Centre for Exploration Targeting, School of Earth Science, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Sabin Zahirovic
- EarthByte Group, School of Geosciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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13
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Reply to Rugenstein et al.: Marine Sr and Os records do not preclude Neogene cooling through emergence of the Southeast Asian islands. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2107556118. [PMID: 34301874 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2107556118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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14
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Isotope mass-balance constraints preclude that mafic weathering drove Neogene cooling. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2026345118. [PMID: 34301866 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2026345118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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