New Caledonian carbon sinks at the onset of Antarctic glaciation

Abstract

Research Article| September 01, 2011 New Caledonian carbon sinks at the onset of Antarctic glaciation Douglas N. Reusch Douglas N. Reusch Department of Geology, University of Maine at Farmington, 173 High Street, Farmington, Maine 04938, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Douglas N. Reusch Department of Geology, University of Maine at Farmington, 173 High Street, Farmington, Maine 04938, USA Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 09 Dec 2010 Revision Received: 24 Mar 2011 Accepted: 28 Mar 2011 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2011 Geological Society of America Geology (2011) 39 (9): 807–810. https://doi.org/10.1130/G31981.1 Article history Received: 09 Dec 2010 Revision Received: 24 Mar 2011 Accepted: 28 Mar 2011 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Douglas N. Reusch; New Caledonian carbon sinks at the onset of Antarctic glaciation. Geology 2011;; 39 (9): 807–810. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G31981.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract During the latest Eocene, as Earth's climate transitioned from a greenhouse to an icehouse state, likely forced by declining atmospheric carbon dioxide pressure (pCO2), a large tract of basic and ultrabasic seafloor breached sea level in the New Caledonian region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean. A plausible mechanism for CO2 drawdown at this precise time, 35–34 Ma, invokes weathering of the seafloor rocks, composed of highly soluble Ca- and Mg-rich silicates, and related organic carbon burial. Carbon burial fluxes based on estimates of paleo-area, paleo–erosion rate, and paleo–sedimentation rate suggest a peak perturbation of 0.3–0.5 Emol (1018 mol) m.y.−1 This perturbation may have been sufficient to lower atmospheric pCO2 ∼100 ppmv, thus triggering growth of the East Antarctic ice sheet and a host of related environmental changes. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.