Did changes in late Last Glacial and early Holocene atmospheric CO2 concentrations control rates of tufa precipitation?

• Published in: The Holocene
• Main Authors: Griffiths, Huw I., Pedley, H. Martyn
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publications 1995
• Subjects: Antarc*; Antarctic; Greenland; Greenland ice cores
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/095968369500500212; http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/095968369500500212

Gases trapped within Arctic, Antarctic and Greenland ice-cores document a dramatic increase in atmospheric CO 2 levels (by almost 100%) in the period between the last glacial maximum and the late Holocene. The authors note an apparent correlation between increases in levels of atmospheric CO 2 during this period and an episode of mass deposition of freshwater carbonate tufas and travertines. As changes in atmospheric CO 2 levels are likely to affect carbonate deposition (Tucker and Wright, 1990), we propose the hypothesis that a relationship exists between increasing atmospheric CO 2 levels and tufa deposition.