New studies confirm mid-Cretaceous volcanism caused ocean acidification. New analyses of fossil plankton and sedimentary rock confirm that massive volcanic CO2 emissions triggered ocean acidification and anoxia during the mid-Cretaceous Associated with the onset of volcanism, fossil plankton
“Ocean acidification and anoxia resulted from massive COrelease from volcanoes,” said Northwestern’s Brad Sageman, a senior co-author of both studies. “These major COemission events in Earth’s history provide the best examples we have of how the Earth system responds to very large inputs of CO. This work has fundamental applicability to our understanding of the climate system, and our ability to predict what will happen in the future.
Sediment core from the eastern Indian Ocean, offshore of southwest Australia. Lighter colored sedimentary rocks are rich in carbonate microfossils deposited before the ocean acidification event, and darker mudstones represent the time interval when ocean acidification occurred. These stones are darker due to the absence of carbonate microfossils caused by more corrosive seawater during the acidification event.
Kitch and her collaborators were drawn to the Gubbio specimens because Coccioni’s optical observations and measurements of their shells showed abnormalities, including a consistent pattern of “dwarfing,” or a decrease in overall size, coincident with the onset of OAE2. “This is the first paper to marry calcium isotopic evidence for acidification with observations of biological indicators of stress,” said Sageman, who is co-director of the Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern. “It’s these independent biological and geochemical observations that confirm there was an impact on biomineralization during the onset of OAE2.
These events of massive volcanic activity occur throughout Earth history and are increasingly recognized as major agents of global change. Many LIPs were submarine, injecting tons of COthat can inhibit calcium carbonate formation and may even dissolve preexisting carbonate shells and sediments.
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