GSA TODAY Publishes News and Information for More Than the Early Late Cretaceous (Turonian, Ca
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VVOL.OL. 114,4, NNO.O. 3 A PPUBLICATIONUBLICATION OOFF TTHEHE GGEOLOGICALEOLOGICAL SSOCIETYOCIETY OOFF AAMERICAMERICA MMARCHARCH 22004004 CO2 as a primary driver of Phanerozoic climate, by Dana L. Royer, Robert A. Berner, Isabel P. Montañez, Neil J. Tabor, and David J. Beerling, p. 4 Mann Mentors Program, p. 21 GeoVentures 2004, p. 24 VOLUME 14, NUMBER 3 MARCH 2004 Cover: A polar, circum-Pacific landscape from GSA TODAY publishes news and information for more than the early Late Cretaceous (Turonian, ca. 90 Ma). 18,000 GSA members and subscribing libraries. GSA Today An early-autumn aurora borealis casts a blue lead science articles should present the results of exciting new glow on the landscape, which includes an research or summarize and synthesize important problems or active volcano. A champsosaur is visible issues, and they must be understandable to all in the earth science community. Submit manuscripts to science editors catching its freshwater prey against a backdrop Keith A. Howard, [email protected], or Gerald M. Ross, of representative angiosperms, conifers, and [email protected]. cycads. Geologic evidence suggests that the GSA TODAY (ISSN 1052-5173 USPS 0456-530) is published 11 Turonian was a time of globally warm temper- times per year, monthly, with a combined April/May issue, by The atures and elevated levels of atmospheric CO2. Geological Society of America, Inc., with offices at 3300 Penrose Art by Rebecca Horwitt. See “CO2 as a pri- Place, Boulder, Colorado. Mailing address: P.O. Box 9140, mary driver of Phanerozoic climate,” by Royer Boulder, CO 80301-9140, U.S.A. Periodicals postage paid at et al., p.4–10. Boulder, Colorado, and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to GSA Today, GSA Sales and Service, P.O. Box 9140, Boulder, CO 80301-9140. Copyright © 2004, The Geological Society of America, Inc. (GSA). SCIENCE ARTICLE All rights reserved. Copyright not claimed on content prepared wholly by U.S. government employees within scope of their employment. Individual scientists are hereby granted permission, 4 CO2 as a primary driver of Phanerozoic climate, by DANA L. without fees or further requests to GSA, to use a single figure, a ROYER, ROBERT A. BERNER, ISABEL P. MONTAÑEZ, NEIL J. TABOR, AND single table, and/or a brief paragraph of text in other subsequent works and to make unlimited photocopies of items in this journal DAVID J. BEERLING for noncommercial use in classrooms to further education and science. For any other use, contact Copyright Permissions, GSA, P.O. Box 9140, Boulder, CO 80301-9140, USA, Fax 303- 357-1073, [email protected]; reference GSA Today, ISSN 1052-5173. 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Sajban 26 Announcements ADVERTISING: Classifieds & display: Ann Crawford, 1-800-472-1988, ext. 1053, (303) 357-1053, Fax 303-357-1070; [email protected] 28 Classified Advertising GSA ONLINE: www.geosociety.org 29 Journal Highlights Printed in U.S.A. using pure soy inks. 30 GeoMart Geoscience Directory 50% Total Recovered Fiber 10% Postconsumer The role of CO2 in regulating cli- CO as a primary driver of mate over Phanerozoic timescales has 2 recently been questioned using δ18O records of shallow marine carbonate Phanerozoic climate (Veizer et al., 2000) and modeled pat- terns of cosmic ray fluxes (Shaviv and Dana L. Royer, Department of Geosciences and Institutes of the Environment, Veizer, 2003). The low-latitude δ18O Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA, compilation (Veizer et al., 1999, 2000), [email protected] taken to reflect surface water tempera- Robert A. Berner, Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, New tures, is decoupled from the CO2 record Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA and instead more closely correlates with the cosmic ray flux data. If correct, Isabel P. Montañez, Department of Geology, University of California, Davis, cosmic rays, ostensibly acting through California 95616, USA variations in cloud albedo, may be Neil J. Tabor, Department of Geological Sciences, Southern Methodist University, more important than CO2 in regulating Dallas, Texas 75275, USA Phanerozoic climate. Here we scrutinize the pre-Quaternary David J. Beerling, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, records of CO , temperature, and cos- Sheffield S10 2TN, UK 2 mic ray flux in an attempt to resolve current discrepancies. We first compare proxy reconstructions and model pre- ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION dictions of CO2 to gauge how securely Recent studies have purported to Atmospheric CO2 is an important we understand the major patterns of show a closer correspondence between greenhouse gas, and because of its short Phanerozoic CO2. Using this record of reconstructed Phanerozoic records of residence time (~4 yr) and numerous CO2 and Ca concentrations in cosmic ray flux and temperature than sources and sinks, it has the potential Phanerozoic seawater, we then modify between CO2 and temperature. The role to regulate climate over a vast range the δ18O record of Veizer et al. (1999, of the greenhouse gas CO2 in control- of timescales, from years to millions of 2000) to account for the effects of sea- ling global temperatures has therefore years. For example, the 30% rise in at- water pH. This modified δ18O record is been questioned. Here we review the mospheric CO2 concentrations over the then compared to records of continental geologic records of CO2 and glacia- past 100 years has been accompanied glaciations and cosmic ray fluxes. tions and find that CO2 was low (<500 by significant global warming (Mann et ppm) during periods of long-lived and al., 1999, 2003). Most studies incorporat- COMPARISON OF PROXY CO2 widespread continental glaciations and ing all known climate forcings implicate RECORDS TO GEOCARB MODEL high (>1000 ppm) during other, warmer CO2 as the primary driver for this most RESULTS periods. The CO2 record is likely robust recent rise in global temperatures (Mann Multiple geochemical models of atmo- because independent proxy records et al., 1998; Crowley, 2000; Mitchell spheric CO2 evolution have been devel- are highly correlated with CO2 predic- et al., 2001). At the longer timescale oped in recent years; the most complete tions from geochemical models. The of glacial-interglacial cycles (105 yr), a models track the exchange of carbon Phanerozoic sea surface temperature tight correlation between CO2 and polar between buried organic and inorganic record as inferred from shallow marine temperatures has long been established sedimentary carbon and the atmosphere carbonate δ18O values has been used (Barnola et al., 1987; Petit et al., 1999). plus oceans (Berner, 1991; Tajika, 1998; to quantitatively test the importance of Although debated for many years, it Berner and Kothavala, 2001; Wallmann, potential climate forcings, but it fails is clear that CO2 acted as either a cli- 2001; Kashiwagi and Shikazono, 2003). several first-order tests relative to more mate driver or an important amplifier The CO2 predictions from these models well-established paleoclimatic indi- (Shackleton, 2000). For pre-Quaternary are highly convergent; for the purposes cators: both the early Paleozoic and climates, ice core records do not ex- of this study, we will use GEOCARB III Mesozoic are calculated to have been ist, but a multitude of CO2 proxies and (Berner and Kothavala, 2001), which too cold for too long.