Reconstructing CO2 Levels in Earth's History

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CO2,Atmosphere,Geoscientists

An international consortium of geoscientists has reconstructed atmospheric levels of CO2 going back 66 million years using proxies in the geological record. Today's concentration, 420 parts per million, is higher than it's ever been in 14 million years.

An international consortium of geoscientists has reconstructed atmospheric levels of CO2 going back 66 million years using proxies in the geological record . Today's concentration, 420 parts per million, is higher than it's ever been in 14 million years. Today atmospheric carbon dioxide is at its highest level in at least several million years thanks to widespread combustion of fossil fuels by humans over the past couple centuries.

But where does 419 parts per million (ppm) -- the current concentration of the greenhouse gas in the atmosphere -- fit in Earth's history? That's a question an international community of scientists, featuring key contributions by University of Utah geologists, is sorting out by examining a plethora of markers in the geologic record that offer clues about the contents of ancient atmospheres. Their initial study was published this week in the journal concentrations going back through the Cenozoic, the era that began with the demise dinosaurs and rise of mammals 66 million years ag

CO2 Atmosphere Geoscientists Proxies Geological Record Concentration Fossil Fuels Greenhouse Gas Earth's History Cenozoic

 

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