Scientists have found another reason for the sharp warming of the climate 55 million years ago
Scientists have identified new factors contributing to a sharp warming of the Earth's climate on the border between the Paleocene (66-56 million years ago) and the Eocene (56-33.9 million). The article was published in the journal Nature Communications.
The thermal maximum lasted about 150 thousand years and was accompanied by a significant increase in temperature. Volcanoes are known to have activated in the beginning, emitting a lot of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In a new study, scientists have found elevated levels of mercury on the eve and at the beginning of the sharp warming. This was done thanks to the analysis of sedimentary core samples in the North Sea. It is assumed that, in addition to volcanoes, carbon dioxide entered the atmosphere from some other source.
Scientists believe there are tipping points in the Earth system that could trigger the release of additional CO2 stored in natural reservoirs. Volcanism is responsible for warming only at the initial stage, after which a new source of carbon dioxide was supposed to come into play.
According to the authors of the study, volcanoes could have generated many hydrothermal vents, emitting gases from the interior of the Earth into the atmosphere. Secondary sources of greenhouse gases could be the melting of permafrost and methane hydrates on the seabed.
Previously, scientists from the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland found that volcanic eruptions occurring on Earth 56 million years ago had a significant impact on the climate, turning some areas of the far north into tropics. The new study found that volcanism also plugged the sea space between the Arctic and the Atlantic, changing the way ocean waters mix.
