Impact of global cooling on Early Cretaceous high pCO2 world during the Weissert Event
Cavalheiro, L.; Wagner, T.; Steinig, S.; Bottini, C.; Dummann, W.; Esegbue, O.; Gambacorta, G.; Giraldo-Gómez, V.; Farnsworth, A.; Flögel, S.; Hofmann, P.; Lunt, D.J.; Rethemeyer, J.; Torricelli, S.; Erba, E. (2021). Impact of global cooling on Early Cretaceous high pCO2 world during the Weissert Event. Nature Comm. 12(1): 5411. https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-25706-0
In: Nature Communications. Nature Publishing Group: London. ISSN 2041-1723; e-ISSN 2041-1723, meer
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| Auteurs | | Top |
- Cavalheiro, L.
- Wagner, T.
- Steinig, S.
- Bottini, C.
- Dummann, W.
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- Esegbue, O.
- Gambacorta, G.
- Giraldo-Gómez, V.
- Farnsworth, A.
- Flögel, S.
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- Hofmann, P.
- Lunt, D.J.
- Rethemeyer, J.
- Torricelli, S.
- Erba, E.
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| Abstract |
The Weissert Event ~133 million years ago marked a profound global cooling that punctuated the Early Cretaceous greenhouse. We present modelling, high-resolution bulk organic carbon isotopes and chronostratigraphically calibrated sea surface temperature (SSTs) based on an organic paleothermometer (the TEX86 proxy), which capture the Weissert Event in the semi-enclosed Weddell Sea basin, offshore Antarctica (paleolatitude ~54 °S; paleowater depth ~500 meters). We document a ~3–4 °C drop in SST coinciding with the Weissert cold end, and converge the Weddell Sea data, climate simulations and available worldwide multi-proxy based temperature data towards one unifying solution providing a best-fit between all lines of evidence. The outcome confirms a 3.0 °C ( ±1.7 °C) global mean surface cooling across the Weissert Event, which translates into a ~40% drop in atmospheric pCO2 over a period of ~700 thousand years. Consistent with geologic evidence, this pCO2 drop favoured the potential build-up of local polar ice. |
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