Pagani, Mark et al. (2005): Marked decline in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations during the Paleogene

Leg/Site/Hole:
Identifier:
2005-062938
georefid
10.1126/science.1110063
doi
Creator:
Pagani, Mark
Yale University, Department of Geology and Geophysics, New Haven, CT, United States
author
Zachos, James C.
University of California at Santa Cruz, United States
author
Freeman, Katherine H.
Pennsylvania State University, United States
author
Tipple, Brett
author
Bohaty, Steven
author
Identification:
Marked decline in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations during the Paleogene
2005
Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, DC, United States
309
5734
600-603
The relation between the partial pressure of atmospheric carbon dioxide (pCO (sub 2) ) and Paleogene climate is poorly resolved. We used stable carbon isotopic values of di-unsaturated alkenones extracted from deep sea cores to reconstruct pCO (sub 2) from the middle Eocene to the late Oligocene ( approximately 45 to 25 million years ago). Our results demonstrate that pCO (sub 2) ranged between 1000 to 1500 parts per million by volume in the middle to late Eocene, then decreased in several steps during the Oligocene, and reached modern levels by the latest Oligocene. The fall in pCO (sub 2) likely allowed for a critical expansion of ice sheets on Antarctica and promoted conditions that forced the onset of terrestrial C (sub 4) photosynthesis.
English
Serial
Coverage:Geographic coordinates:
North:
West:East:
South:
Stratigraphy; algae; alkenones; atmosphere; C-13/C-12; carbon; carbon dioxide; Cenozoic; climate change; Coccolithophoraceae; concentration; cores; correlation; Eocene; isotope ratios; isotopes; ketones; lower Oligocene; microfossils; Ocean Drilling Program; ocean floors; Oligocene; organic compounds; paleoclimatology; Paleogene; Plantae; reconstruction; stable isotopes; Tertiary; upper Eocene; world ocean;
.