The Global Carbon Cycle and · cooler global climate are abrupt climate change events. Scientific...
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Archean Eon Phanerozoic Paleozoic Mesozoic Cenozoic EON ERA Proterozoic Eon Hadean 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 Billions of years before present (Ga, giga-anums) Key Events in Earth History Age of the Solar System early crust, early ocean Formaon of Moon Oldest known rocks on Earth rapid degassing (volcanism) high heat flow (radiogenic decay) intense meteorite bombardment Oldest fossils (prokaryoc cells) fish - land plants - amphibians - reples dinosaurs - mammals - birds - flowering plants mammals - grasses - humans End-Cretaceous mass exncon PETM End-Permian mass exncon Oldest known eukaryoc cells red beds banded iron formaons widespread stromatolites growth of connents greenstone belts Oldest known mulcellular organisms Widespread shelly fossils ("Cambrian explosion") Ediacaran soſt-bodied biota “Snowball Earth” “Great Oxygenaon Event” Geochemical evidence for life formaon of ocean as surfaced cooled Early atmosphere rich in Carbon and Nitrogen (no free Oxygen) The Global Carbon Cycle and the Evoluon of Life and Climate Example of Rapid Climate Change (55.5 Ma): Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) ˚ The PETM holds valuable clues to the nature of pping points and the impact of abrupt global warming on our planet. The high latudes and deep sea warmed by 6oC in <10,000 years; that’s 0.6oC in 1000 years or 0.06oC in 100 years. Last century, global average temperatures rose ~0.6oC, which is an order of magnitude more rapid than the PETM. The PETM resulted in extreme ocean acidificaon and environmental perturbaon to the terrestrial and marine biosphere. Recovery from the event took nearly 200,000 years. Rapid Climate Change Today hp://scrippsco2.ucsd.edu/assets/graphics/png/merged_ice_core_record.png Geothermal Solar/Wind Hydropower UMass hps://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/files/pmel-oa-imageee.jpg Walvis Ridge, Southeast Atlanc ODP Leg 208 Deep-sea sediment core with PETM Gradual recovery (180-250 kyr) Rapid warming & ocean acidificaon (<10 kyr) CaCO 3 - rich sediment CaCO 3 - poor sediment Depth (meters below seafloor) hp://www-odp.tamu.edu/publicaons/208_IR/chap_01/chap_01.htm Human acvity has unequivocally altered the composion of the atmosphere. Start of Industrial Revoluon Start of Green Revoluon hp://www.regents-earthscience.com/uploads/2/2/8/7/22878562/3871737_orig.jpg Stromatolites (cyanobacterial mats) hps://www.e-educaon.psu.edu/earth103/sites/www.e-educaon.psu.edu.earth103/files/module07/coccoliths-500.jpg hp://www.ioccg.org/gallery/seawifs/europe/UK.jpg hp://www.visualnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/diatom-6.jpg hp://nathistoc.bio.uci.edu/Dinoflagellates/DSC_2262d.jpg Diatoms Dinoflagellates Coccolithophorids hp://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/Images/Geological-Survey/GSWA-geological_icons-10-Shark_Bay_stromatolites _rdax_1240x834.JPG hps://upload.wikimedia.org/ wikipedia/commons/d/d7/ Stromatolites_hoyt_mcr1.JPG Superimposed on first-order cycles of generally warmer and cooler global climate are abrupt climate change events. Scienfic ocean drilling has revealed the details of numerous such events of the past 120 million years. One such event was the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), 55.5 Ma. The PETM was an abrupt global warming event triggered by the release of CH 4 and/or CO 2 locked up in terrestrial and marine sedimentary deposits. During the late Paleocene, gradually warming climac condions and an ideal orbital configuraon reached a threshold, or pping point, resulng in very rapid melng of high latude permafrost, and perhaps connental margin methane clathrates. During the Phanerozoic Eon (last 543 million years), Earth’s climate system has naturally oscillated between so-called “Greenhouse” and “Icehouse” condions largely due to the abundance of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. Natural cycles of plate tectonic acvity, sea level, and weathering of the landmasses were first order controls on such climac oscillaons. For the past 200 million years, coccolithophorids, dinoflagellates, and diatoms have been the dominant phytoplankton in the world ocean. These autotrophs fix inorganic carbon (CO 2 ) to create organic carbon (carbohydrates, proteins, lipids) through the process of photosynthesis. Under the right condions, this organic maer will accumulate in sediments where it can be later modified to form petroleum and natural gas. Burning of such fossil fuels is the major contributor to global warming today. Cyanobacteria, later joined by eukaryoc algae, ulized CO 2 from the atmosphere and released O 2 during photosynthesis; it took billions of years for our atmosphere to become oxygen-rich (from ~3500 Ma to 550 Ma). Hadean Earth Prepared by the Micropaleontology Lab Department of Geosciences Cyanobacteria hp://assets.inhabitat.com/files/cyanobacteria-ed01.jpg
Transcript of The Global Carbon Cycle and · cooler global climate are abrupt climate change events. Scientific...
Arch
ean
Eon
Phan
eroz
oic
Paleozoic
Mesozoic
Cenozoic
EON ERAPr
oter
ozoi
c Eo
nHa
dean
0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
Billi
ons o
f yea
rs b
efor
e pr
esen
t (Ga
, gig
a-an
ums)
Key Events inEarth History
Age of the Solar System
early crust, early ocean
Formation of Moon
Oldest known rocks on Earth
rapid degassing (volcanism)high heat flow (radiogenic decay)intense meteorite bombardment
Oldest fossils (prokaryotic cells)
fish - land plants - amphibians - reptiles
dinosaurs - mammals - birds - flowering plants
mammals - grasses - humansEnd-Cretaceous mass extinctionPETM
End-Permian mass extinction
Oldest known eukaryotic cells
red beds
banded iron formationswidespread stromatolitesgrowth of continents
greenstone belts
Oldest knownmulticellular organisms
Widespread shelly fossils("Cambrian explosion")
Ediacaran soft-bodied biota“Snowball Earth”
“Great Oxygenation Event”
Geochemical evidence for lifeformation of ocean as surfaced cooled
Early atmosphere rich in Carbon and Nitrogen (no free Oxygen)
The Global Carbon Cycle andthe Evolution of Life and Climate
Example of Rapid Climate Change (55.5 Ma): Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM)
˚
The PETM holds valuable clues to the nature of tipping points and the impact of abrupt global warming on our planet. The high latitudes and deep sea warmed by 6oC in <10,000 years; that’s 0.6oC in 1000 years or 0.06oC in 100 years. Last century, global average temperatures rose ~0.6oC, which is an order of magnitude more rapid than the PETM.
The PETM resulted in extreme ocean acidification and environmental perturbation to the terrestrial and marine biosphere. Recovery from the event took nearly 200,000 years.
Rapid Climate Change Today
http://scrippsco2.ucsd.edu/assets/graphics/png/merged_ice_core_record.png
Geothermal
Solar/Wind
Hydropower
UMass
https://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/files/pmel-oa-imageee.jpg
Walvis Ridge, Southeast Atlantic ODP Leg 208
Deep-sea sediment core with PETM
Gradual recovery (180-250 kyr)
Rapid warming & ocean acidification (<10 kyr)
CaCO3- rich sediment
CaCO3- poor sedimentDept
h (m
eter
s be
low
sea
floor
)
http://www-odp.tamu.edu/publications/208_IR/chap_01/chap_01.htm
Human activity has unequivocally altered the composition of the atmosphere.
Start of Industrial Revolution
Start of Green Revolution
http://www.regents-earthscience.com/uploads/2/2/8/7/22878562/3871737_orig.jpg
Stromatolites (cyanobacterial mats)
https://www.e-education.psu.edu/earth103/sites/www.e-education.psu.edu.earth103/files/module07/coccoliths-500.jpg
http://www.ioccg.org/gallery/seawifs/europe/UK.jpg
http://www.visualnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/diatom-6.jpg
http://nathistoc.bio.uci.edu/Dinoflagellates/DSC_2262d.jpg
DiatomsDinoflagellates
Coccolithophorids
http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/Images/Geological-Survey/GSWA-geological_icons-10-Shark_Bay_stromatolites_rdax_1240x834.JPG
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Stromatolites_hoyt_mcr1.JPG
Superimposed on first-order cycles of generally warmer and cooler global climate are abrupt climate change events. Scientific ocean drilling has revealed the details of numerous such events of the past 120 million years. One such event was the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), 55.5 Ma.
The PETM was an abrupt global warming event triggered by the release of CH4 and/or CO2 locked up in terrestrial and marine sedimentary deposits. During the late Paleocene, gradually warming climatic conditions and an ideal orbital configuration reached a threshold, or tipping point, resulting in very rapid melting of high latitude permafrost, and perhaps continental margin methane clathrates.
During the Phanerozoic Eon (last 543 million years), Earth’s climate system has naturally oscillated between so-called “Greenhouse” and “Icehouse” conditions largely due to the abundance of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. Natural cycles of plate tectonic activity, sea level, and weathering of the landmasses were first order controls on such climatic oscillations.
For the past 200 million years, coccolithophorids, dinoflagellates, and diatoms have been the dominant phytoplankton in the world ocean. These autotrophs fix inorganic carbon (CO2) to create organic carbon (carbohydrates, proteins, lipids) through the process of photosynthesis. Under the right conditions, this organic matter will accumulate in sediments where it can be later modified to form petroleum and natural gas. Burning of such fossil fuels is the major contributor to global warming today.
Cyanobacteria, later joined by eukaryotic algae, utilized CO2 from the atmosphere and released O2 during photosynthesis; it took billions of years for our atmosphere to become oxygen-rich (from ~3500 Ma to 550 Ma).
Hadean Earth
Prepared by the Micropaleontology LabDepartment of Geosciences
Cyanobacteriahttp://assets.inhabitat.com/files/cyanobacteria-ed01.jpg
