Slow release of fossil carbon during the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum
Slow release of fossil carbon during the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum
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DOI：
10.1038/ngeo1179
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发表时间：
2011-07-01
影响因子：
18.3
通讯作者：
Harding, Ian C.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Cui, Ying;Kump, Lee R.;Harding, Ian C.
被称为古新世-始新世热最大值的短暂全球变暖事件发生在大约5590万年前。变暖伴随着沉积碳酸盐的同位素特征的快速变化，这表明该事件是由大量碳释放到海洋-大气系统引发的。然而，所涉及的碳的来源、排放率和总量仍然没有得到很好的约束。在这里，我们使用一个扩展的海洋沉积部分从斯匹次卑尔根岛重建碳同位素漂移记录在海洋有机质。我们发现，海洋-大气系统的碳同位素漂移的总幅度约为千分之四。然后，我们强迫一个中等复杂度的地球系统模型与我们的同位素记录相一致，使我们能够对大气中的碳排放率进行连续的估计。我们的模拟表明，碳添加的峰值速率可能在0.3-1.7 Pg C yr（-1）的范围内，远低于目前的碳排放速率。
The transient global warming event known as the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum occurred about 55.9 Myr ago. The warming was accompanied by a rapid shift in the isotopic signature of sedimentary carbonates, suggesting that the event was triggered by a massive release of carbon to the ocean-atmosphere system. However, the source, rate of emission and total amount of carbon involved remain poorly constrained. Here we use an expanded marine sedimentary section from Spitsbergen to reconstruct the carbon isotope excursion as recorded in marine organic matter. We find that the total magnitude of the carbon isotope excursion in the ocean-atmosphere system was about 4 parts per thousand. We then force an Earth system model of intermediate complexity to conform to our isotope record, allowing us to generate a continuous estimate of the rate of carbon emissions to the atmosphere. Our simulations show that the peak rate of carbon addition was probably in the range of 0.3-1.7 Pg C yr(-1), much slower than the present rate of carbon emissions.