A coccolithophore concept for constraining the Cenozoic carbon cycle
An urgent question for future climate, in light of increased burning of fossil fuels, is the temperature sensitivity of the climate system to atmospheric carbon dioxide (pCO>sub>2 ). To date, no direct proxy for past levels of pCO 2 exists beyond the reach of the polar ice core records. We pro...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-4-323-2007 https://www.biogeosciences.net/4/323/2007/ |
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ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:bg5821 2023-05-15T16:39:04+02:00 A coccolithophore concept for constraining the Cenozoic carbon cycle Henderiks, J. Rickaby, R. E. M. 2018-09-27 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-4-323-2007 https://www.biogeosciences.net/4/323/2007/ eng eng doi:10.5194/bg-4-323-2007 https://www.biogeosciences.net/4/323/2007/ eISSN: 1726-4189 Text 2018 ftcopernicus https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-4-323-2007 2019-12-24T09:58:33Z An urgent question for future climate, in light of increased burning of fossil fuels, is the temperature sensitivity of the climate system to atmospheric carbon dioxide (pCO>sub>2 ). To date, no direct proxy for past levels of pCO 2 exists beyond the reach of the polar ice core records. We propose a new methodology for placing a constraint on pCO 2 over the Cenozoic based on the physiological plasticity of extant coccolithophores. Specifically, our premise is that the contrasting calcification tolerance of various extant species of coccolithophore to raised pCO 2 reflects an "evolutionary memory" of past atmospheric composition. The different times of evolution of certain morphospecies allows an upper constraint of past pCO 2 to be placed on Cenozoic timeslices. Further, our hypothesis has implications for the response of marine calcifiers to ocean acidification. Geologically "ancient" species, which have survived large changes in ocean chemistry, are likely more resilient to predicted acidification. Text ice core Ocean acidification Copernicus Publications: E-Journals Biogeosciences 4 3 323 329 |
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Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
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ftcopernicus |
language |
English |
description |
An urgent question for future climate, in light of increased burning of fossil fuels, is the temperature sensitivity of the climate system to atmospheric carbon dioxide (pCO>sub>2 ). To date, no direct proxy for past levels of pCO 2 exists beyond the reach of the polar ice core records. We propose a new methodology for placing a constraint on pCO 2 over the Cenozoic based on the physiological plasticity of extant coccolithophores. Specifically, our premise is that the contrasting calcification tolerance of various extant species of coccolithophore to raised pCO 2 reflects an "evolutionary memory" of past atmospheric composition. The different times of evolution of certain morphospecies allows an upper constraint of past pCO 2 to be placed on Cenozoic timeslices. Further, our hypothesis has implications for the response of marine calcifiers to ocean acidification. Geologically "ancient" species, which have survived large changes in ocean chemistry, are likely more resilient to predicted acidification. |
format |
Text |
author |
Henderiks, J. Rickaby, R. E. M. |
spellingShingle |
Henderiks, J. Rickaby, R. E. M. A coccolithophore concept for constraining the Cenozoic carbon cycle |
author_facet |
Henderiks, J. Rickaby, R. E. M. |
author_sort |
Henderiks, J. |
title |
A coccolithophore concept for constraining the Cenozoic carbon cycle |
title_short |
A coccolithophore concept for constraining the Cenozoic carbon cycle |
title_full |
A coccolithophore concept for constraining the Cenozoic carbon cycle |
title_fullStr |
A coccolithophore concept for constraining the Cenozoic carbon cycle |
title_full_unstemmed |
A coccolithophore concept for constraining the Cenozoic carbon cycle |
title_sort |
coccolithophore concept for constraining the cenozoic carbon cycle |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-4-323-2007 https://www.biogeosciences.net/4/323/2007/ |
genre |
ice core Ocean acidification |
genre_facet |
ice core Ocean acidification |
op_source |
eISSN: 1726-4189 |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/bg-4-323-2007 https://www.biogeosciences.net/4/323/2007/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-4-323-2007 |
container_title |
Biogeosciences |
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4 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
323 |
op_container_end_page |
329 |
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1766029407108988928 |