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India-Asia collision as a driver of atmospheric CO₂ in the Cenozoic.

ABSTRACT: Deep Earth degassing is a critical forcing factor for atmospheric CO₂ variations and palaeoclimate changes in Earth's history. For the Cenozoic, the key driving mechanism of atmospheric CO₂ variations remains controversial. Here we analyse three stages of collision-related magmatism in Tibet, which correspond temporally with the three major stages of atmospheric CO₂ variations in the Cenozoic and explore the possibility of a causal link between these phenomena. To this end we present geochemical data for the three stages of magmatic rocks in Tibet, which we use to inform a model calculating the continental collision-induced CO₂ emission flux associated with the evolving Neo-Tethyan to continental subduction over the Cenozoic. The correlation between our modelled CO₂ emission rates and the global atmospheric CO₂ curve is consistent with the hypothesis that the India-Asia collision was the primary driver of changes in atmospheric CO₂ over the Cenozoic.

SUBMITTER: Guo Z

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8222363 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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India-Asia collision as a driver of atmospheric CO2 in the Cenozoic.

Guo Zhengfu Z Wilson Marjorie M Dingwell Donald B DB Liu Jiaqi J

Nature communications 20210623 1

Deep Earth degassing is a critical forcing factor for atmospheric CO2 variations and palaeoclimate changes in Earth's history. For the Cenozoic, the key driving mechanism of atmospheric CO2 variations remains controversial. Here we analyse three stages of collision-related magmatism in Tibet, which correspond temporally with the three major stages of atmospheric CO2 variations in the Cenozoic and explore the possibility of a causal link between these phenomena. T ...[more]

PMID: 34162840

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