Marine siliceous ecosystem decline led to sustained anomalous Early Triassic warmth
Isson, T.T.; Zhang, S.; Lau, K.V.; Rauzi, S.; Tosca, N.J.; Penman, D.E.; Planavsky, N.J. (2022). Marine siliceous ecosystem decline led to sustained anomalous Early Triassic warmth. Nature Comm. 13(1): 3509. https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31128-3
In: Nature Communications. Nature Publishing Group: London. ISSN 2041-1723; e-ISSN 2041-1723, more
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| Authors | | Top |
- Isson, T.T.
- Zhang, S.
- Lau, K.V.
- Rauzi, S.
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- Tosca, N.J.
- Penman, D.E.
- Planavsky, N.J.
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| Abstract |
In the wake of rapid CO2 release tied to the emplacement of the Siberian Traps, elevated temperatures were maintained for over five million years during the end-Permian biotic crisis. This protracted recovery defies our current understanding of climate regulation via the silicate weathering feedback, and hints at a fundamentally altered carbon and silica cycle. Here, we propose that the development of widespread marine anoxia and Si-rich conditions, linked to the collapse of the biological silica factory, warming, and increased weathering, was capable of trapping Earth’s system within a hyperthermal by enhancing ocean-atmosphere CO2 recycling via authigenic clay formation. While solid-Earth degassing may have acted as a trigger, subsequent biotic feedbacks likely exacerbated and prolonged the environmental crisis. This refined view of the carbon-silica cycle highlights that the ecological success of siliceous organisms exerts a potentially significant influence on Earth’s climate regime. |
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