Towards a quantitative understanding of the late Neoproterozoic carbon cycle

TY - JOUR

T1 - Towards a quantitative understanding of the late Neoproterozoic carbon cycle

AU - Bjerrum, Christian J.

AU - Canfield, Donald Eugene

PY - 2011/4/5

Y1 - 2011/4/5

N2 - The cycles of carbon and oxygen at the Earth surface are intimately linked, where the burial of organic carbon into sediments represents a source of oxygen to the surface environment. This coupling is typically quantified through the isotope records of organic and inorganic carbon. Yet, the late Neoproterozoic Eon, the time when animals first evolved, experienced wild isotope fluctuations which do not conform to our normal understanding of the carbon cycle and carbon-oxygen coupling. We interpret these fluctuations with a new carbon cycle model and demonstrate that all of the main features of the carbonate and organic carbon isotope record can be explained by the release of methane hydrates from an anoxic dissolved organic carbon-rich ocean into an atmosphere containing oxygen levels considerably less than today.

AB - The cycles of carbon and oxygen at the Earth surface are intimately linked, where the burial of organic carbon into sediments represents a source of oxygen to the surface environment. This coupling is typically quantified through the isotope records of organic and inorganic carbon. Yet, the late Neoproterozoic Eon, the time when animals first evolved, experienced wild isotope fluctuations which do not conform to our normal understanding of the carbon cycle and carbon-oxygen coupling. We interpret these fluctuations with a new carbon cycle model and demonstrate that all of the main features of the carbonate and organic carbon isotope record can be explained by the release of methane hydrates from an anoxic dissolved organic carbon-rich ocean into an atmosphere containing oxygen levels considerably less than today.

KW - Faculty of Science

KW - klima

KW - kulstofkredsløb

KW - Neoproterozoikum

KW - metan

KW - livet udvikling

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79955020786&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1073/pnas.1101755108

DO - 10.1073/pnas.1101755108

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 21422280

AN - SCOPUS:79955020786

SN - 0027-8424

VL - 108

SP - 5542

EP - 5547

JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

IS - 14

ER -