TY - JOUR
T1 - A 35-million-year record of seawater stable Sr isotopes reveals a fluctuating global carbon cycle
AU - Paytan, Adina
AU - Griffith, Elizabeth M.
AU - Eisenhauer, Anton
AU - Hain, Mathis P.
AU - Wallmann, Klaus
AU - Ridgwell, Andrew
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/3/26
Y1 - 2021/3/26
N2 - Changes in the concentration and isotopic composition of the major constituents in seawater reflect changes in their sources and sinks. Because many of the processes controlling these sources and sinks are tied to the cycling of carbon, such records can provide insights into what drives past changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide and climate. Here, we present a stable strontium (Sr) isotope record derived from pelagic marine barite. Our d88/86Sr record exhibits a complex pattern, first declining between 35 and 15 million years ago (Ma), then increasing from 15 to 5 Ma, before declining again from ~5 Ma to the present. Numerical modeling reveals that the associated fluctuations in seawater Sr concentrations are about ±25% relative to present-day seawater. We interpret the d88/86Sr data as reflecting changes in the mineralogy and burial location of biogenic carbonates.
AB - Changes in the concentration and isotopic composition of the major constituents in seawater reflect changes in their sources and sinks. Because many of the processes controlling these sources and sinks are tied to the cycling of carbon, such records can provide insights into what drives past changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide and climate. Here, we present a stable strontium (Sr) isotope record derived from pelagic marine barite. Our d88/86Sr record exhibits a complex pattern, first declining between 35 and 15 million years ago (Ma), then increasing from 15 to 5 Ma, before declining again from ~5 Ma to the present. Numerical modeling reveals that the associated fluctuations in seawater Sr concentrations are about ±25% relative to present-day seawater. We interpret the d88/86Sr data as reflecting changes in the mineralogy and burial location of biogenic carbonates.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85103483481&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1126/science.aaz9266
DO - 10.1126/science.aaz9266
M3 - Article
C2 - 33766882
AN - SCOPUS:85103483481
SN - 0036-8075
VL - 371
SP - 1346
EP - 1350
JO - Science
JF - Science
IS - 6536
ER -