Mills, BJW orcid.org/0000-0002-9141-0931, Tennenbaum, S and Schwartzman, D (2021) Exploring multiple steady states in Earth's long-term carbon cycle. American Journal of Science, 321 (7). pp. 1033-1044. ISSN 0002-9599
Abstract
The long-term carbon cycle regulates Earth's climate and atmospheric CO2 levels over multimillion-year timescales, but it is not clear that this system has a single steady state for a given input rate of CO2. In this paper we explore the possibility for multiple steady states in the long-term climate system. Using a simple carbon cycle box model, we show that the location of precipitation bands around the tropics and high mid-latitudes, coupled with the response of the terrestrial biosphere to local surface temperature, can result in system bi-stability. Here, maximum CO2 drawdown can occur when either the tropics or high mid-latitudes are at the photosynthetic optimum temperature of around 25°C, and a period of instability can exist between these states. We suggest that this dynamic has influenced climate variations over Phanerozoic time, and that higher steady state surface temperatures may be easier to reach than is commonly demonstrated in simple ‘GEOCARB style’ carbon cycle models.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021 American Journal of Science. This is an author produced version of an article published in American Journal of Science. Uploaded with permission from the publisher. |
Keywords: | carbon cycle, Earth history, weathering, biotic feedbacks |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Earth Surface Science Institute (ESSI) (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number NERC (Natural Environment Research Council) NE/S009663/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 10 Aug 2021 15:34 |
Last Modified: | 06 Dec 2021 14:08 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | American Journal of Science |
Identification Number: | 10.2475/07.2021.01 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:176931 |