Assessing the importance of thermogenic degassing from the Karoo Large Igneous Province (LIP) in driving Toarcian carbon cycle perturbations.

ABSTRACT: The emplacement of the Karoo Large Igneous Province (LIP) occurred synchronously with the Toarcian crisis (ca. 183 Ma), which is characterized by major carbon cycle perturbations. A marked increase in the atmospheric concentration of CO₂ (pCO₂) attests to significant input of carbon, while negative carbon isotope excursions (CIEs) in marine and terrestrial records suggest the involvement of a ¹²C-enriched source. Here we explore the effects of pulsed carbon release from the Karoo LIP on atmospheric pCO₂ and δ¹³C of marine sediments, using the GEOCLIM carbon cycle model. We show that a total of 20,500 Gt C replicates the Toarcian pCO₂ and δ¹³C proxy data, and that thermogenic carbon (δ¹³C of -36 ‰) repre

SUBMITTER: Heimdal TH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8553747 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature