Toward a Cenozoic History of Atmospheric CO2
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-8-2023
Abstract
The geological record encodes the relationship between climate and atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) over long and short timescales, as well as potential drivers of evolutionary transitions. However, reconstructing CO2 beyond direct measurements requires the use of paleoproxies and herein lies the challenge, as proxies differ in their assumptions, degree of understanding, and even reconstructed values. In this study, we critically evaluated, categorized, and integrated available proxies to create a high-fidelity and transparently constructed atmospheric CO2 record spanning the past 66 million years. This newly constructed record provides clearer evidence for higher Earth system sensitivity in the past and for the role of CO2 thresholds in biological and cryosphere evolution.
Publication Information
Cenozoic CO2 Proxy Integration Project (CENO2PIP) Consortium. (2023). "Toward a Cenozoic History of Atmospheric CO2". Science, 382(6675), eadi5177. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adi5177
Comments
Matthew J. Kohn of Boise State University is a part of the Cenozoic CO2 Proxy Integration Project (CENO2PIP) Consortium, see article for more details.