A Pleistocene ice core record of atmospheric O2 concentrations
The history of atmospheric O2 partial pressures (Po2) is inextricably linked to the coevolution of life and Earth's biogeochemical cycles. Reconstructions of past Po2 rely on models and proxies but often markedly disagree. We present a record of Po2 reconstructed using O2/N2 ratios from ancient...
Main Authors: | , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | unknown |
Published: |
eScholarship, University of California
2016
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8pk8x712 |
id |
ftcdlib:oai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt8pk8x712 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftcdlib:oai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt8pk8x712 2023-09-05T13:20:12+02:00 A Pleistocene ice core record of atmospheric O2 concentrations Stolper, DA Bender, ML Dreyfus, GB Yan, Y Higgins, JA 1427 - 1430 2016-09-23 application/pdf https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8pk8x712 unknown eScholarship, University of California qt8pk8x712 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8pk8x712 public Science, vol 353, iss 6306 Life Below Water General Science & Technology article 2016 ftcdlib 2023-08-21T18:07:25Z The history of atmospheric O2 partial pressures (Po2) is inextricably linked to the coevolution of life and Earth's biogeochemical cycles. Reconstructions of past Po2 rely on models and proxies but often markedly disagree. We present a record of Po2 reconstructed using O2/N2 ratios from ancient air trapped in ice. This record indicates that Po2 declined by 7 per mil (0.7%) over the past 800,000 years, requiring that O2 sinks were ~2% larger than sources. This decline is consistent with changes in burial and weathering fluxes of organic carbon and pyrite driven by either Neogene cooling or increasing Pleistocene erosion rates. The 800,000-year record of steady average carbon dioxide partial pressures (Pco2) but declining Po2 provides distinctive evidence that a silicate weathering feedback stabilizes Pco2 on million-year time scales. Article in Journal/Newspaper ice core University of California: eScholarship |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of California: eScholarship |
op_collection_id |
ftcdlib |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Life Below Water General Science & Technology |
spellingShingle |
Life Below Water General Science & Technology Stolper, DA Bender, ML Dreyfus, GB Yan, Y Higgins, JA A Pleistocene ice core record of atmospheric O2 concentrations |
topic_facet |
Life Below Water General Science & Technology |
description |
The history of atmospheric O2 partial pressures (Po2) is inextricably linked to the coevolution of life and Earth's biogeochemical cycles. Reconstructions of past Po2 rely on models and proxies but often markedly disagree. We present a record of Po2 reconstructed using O2/N2 ratios from ancient air trapped in ice. This record indicates that Po2 declined by 7 per mil (0.7%) over the past 800,000 years, requiring that O2 sinks were ~2% larger than sources. This decline is consistent with changes in burial and weathering fluxes of organic carbon and pyrite driven by either Neogene cooling or increasing Pleistocene erosion rates. The 800,000-year record of steady average carbon dioxide partial pressures (Pco2) but declining Po2 provides distinctive evidence that a silicate weathering feedback stabilizes Pco2 on million-year time scales. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Stolper, DA Bender, ML Dreyfus, GB Yan, Y Higgins, JA |
author_facet |
Stolper, DA Bender, ML Dreyfus, GB Yan, Y Higgins, JA |
author_sort |
Stolper, DA |
title |
A Pleistocene ice core record of atmospheric O2 concentrations |
title_short |
A Pleistocene ice core record of atmospheric O2 concentrations |
title_full |
A Pleistocene ice core record of atmospheric O2 concentrations |
title_fullStr |
A Pleistocene ice core record of atmospheric O2 concentrations |
title_full_unstemmed |
A Pleistocene ice core record of atmospheric O2 concentrations |
title_sort |
pleistocene ice core record of atmospheric o2 concentrations |
publisher |
eScholarship, University of California |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8pk8x712 |
op_coverage |
1427 - 1430 |
genre |
ice core |
genre_facet |
ice core |
op_source |
Science, vol 353, iss 6306 |
op_relation |
qt8pk8x712 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8pk8x712 |
op_rights |
public |
_version_ |
1776200910981038080 |