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GEOREF RECORD

Greenhouse crises of the past 300 million years

Gregory J. Retallack
Greenhouse crises of the past 300 million years
Geological Society of America Bulletin (September 2009) 121 (9-10): 1441-1455

Abstract

Proxies of past CO (sub 2) and climate over the past 300 m.y. now reveal multiple global climate change events in unprecedented detail. Evidence for past CO (sub 2) spikes comes from expanded and refined stomatal index data of fossil Ginkgo and related leaves. New evidence for synchronous climatic change comes from paleosols in Montana, Utah, and neighboring states. Each CO (sub 2) spike was coeval with unusually clayey, red, and decalcified paleosols that can be traced throughout the Colorado Plateau. Spikes in atmospheric CO (sub 2) also were coeval with increases in paleosol alkali depletion as an indication of high temperature, and spikes in paleosol base depletion and depth to calcic horizons as indications of high precipitation. In the Colorado Plateau, times of warmer climate were also more humid, perhaps due to the greater moisture potential of warmer air. Seasonality of climate did not increase during warm-wet spikes. The Mesozoic greenhouse was not persistently hot with cool spells, but warm with hot flashes. These data furnish power laws predicting the sensitivity and magnitude of change in mean annual temperature (MAT) and mean annual precipitation (MAP) due to rising CO (sub 2) in a mid-latitude, mid-continental region. The magnitude of the coming anthropogenic greenhouse pales in comparison with past greenhouse spikes at times of global mass extinctions.


ISSN: 0016-7606
EISSN: 1943-2674
Coden: BUGMAF
Serial Title: Geological Society of America Bulletin
Serial Volume: 121
Serial Issue: 9-10
Title: Greenhouse crises of the past 300 million years
Affiliation: University of Oregon, Department of Geological Sciences, Eugene, OR, United States
Pages: 1441-1455
Published: 200909
Text Language: English
Publisher: Geological Society of America (GSA), Boulder, CO, United States
References: 165
Accession Number: 2009-074691
Categories: Stratigraphy
Document Type: Serial
Bibliographic Level: Analytic
Annotation: With GSA Data Repository Item 2009025
Illustration Description: illus. incl. strat. col., 2 tables, sketch map
N44°30'00" - N49°00'00", W116°01'60" - W104°01'60"
N37°00'00" - N42°00'00", W114°04'60" - W109°04'60"
Country of Publication: United States
Secondary Affiliation: GeoRef, Copyright 2019, American Geosciences Institute. Reference includes data from GeoScienceWorld, Alexandria, VA, United States. Reference includes data supplied by the Geological Society of America, Boulder, CO, United States
Update Code: 200940
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