Kimberlite eruptions as triggers for early Cenozoic hyperthermals

Patterson, M.; Francis, D.

doi:10.1002/ggge.20054

Cited by 15 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…Additionally, enhanced volcanic activity resulting in kimberlite formation may have been a major source of CO 2 during the Turonian. Kimberlite is a highly carbonaceous volcanic rock (e.g., CO 2 ~ 20 wt% solubility in the magmatic melt 51 ), and kimberlite eruptions have a high ability to emit greenhouse gases 52 . Since the peak of the kimberlite formation occurred during the Cenomanian to Turonian (100–90 Ma) 53 , these volcanic events may have contributed to the CTM.…”

Section: Implications For the Cause Of The Turonian Hot House Worldmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fine-grained interplanetary dust input during the Turonian (Late Cretaceous): evidence from osmium isotope and platinum group elements

Matsumoto,

Ishikawa,

Coccioni

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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The Turonian age (~ 90–94 Ma) was the hottest geological interval in the Cretaceous and also marked by the K3 event, a pronounced enrichment of 3He in pelagic sediments (i.e., massive input of extraterrestrial materials). Here, we present Os isotopic (187Os/188Os) and platinum group element (PGE) data from Turonian sedimentary records. After a sharp unradiogenic shift during the end-Cenomanian oceanic anoxic event 2, the 187Os/188Os ratios declined continuously throughout the Turonian, which could be ascribed to the formations of several large igneous provinces (LIPs). Because the interval with the most unradiogenic 187Os/188Os ratios (i.e., enhanced LIP volcanism) does not correspond to the warmest interval during the mid-Cretaceous, additional sources of CO2, such as subduction zone volcanism or the kimberlite formation, may explain the Cretaceous Thermal Maximum. As Os isotope ratios do not show any sharp unradiogenic shifts and PGE concentrations do not exhibit a pronounced enrichment, an influx of fine-grained cosmic dust to the Earth’s surface, possibly from the long-period comet showers, can be inferred at the time of the 3He enrichment during the mid-Turonian K3 event. Our findings highlight the different behaviors of 3He and PGE information in the sedimentary rocks during the input of fined-grained extraterrestrial materials.

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Section: Implications For the Cause Of The Turonian Hot House Worldmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fine-grained interplanetary dust input during the Turonian (Late Cretaceous): evidence from osmium isotope and platinum group elements

Matsumoto,

Ishikawa,

Coccioni

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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“…PETM is associated with global disturbances in carbon isotopes and dissolution of CaCO3 sediments. The origin of the PETM at around 56 Ma is still debated and in addition to the proposed link to volcanic activity in the northeast Atlantic, explanations for the PETM include methane hydrate dissociation (Dickens et al 1995), comet impact (Kent 2003), global wild fires (Kurz et al 2003) or kimberlite eruptions in Canada (Patterson & Francis 2013).…”

Section: Large Igneous Provinces and Global Changesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Connecting the Deep Earth and the Atmosphere

Torsvik¹,

Svensen²,

Steinberger

et al. 2020

Preprint

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The connections between the Earth&#8217;s interior and its surface are manifold, and defined by processes of material transfer: from the deep Earth to lithosphere, through the crust and into the interconnected systems of the atmosphere-hydrosphere-biosphere, and back again. One of the most spectacular surface expressions of such a process, with origins extending into the deep mantle, is the emplacement of large igneous provinces (LIPs), which have led to rapid climate changes and mass extinctions, but also to moments of transformation with respect to Earth&#8217;s evolving paleogeography. But equally critical are those process which involve material fluxes going the other way&#8212;as best exemplified by subduction, a key driving force behind plate tectonics, but also a key driver for long-term climate evolution through arc volcanism and degassing of CO2.Most hotspots, kimberlites, LIPs are sourced by plumes that rise from the margins of two large low shear-wave velocity provinces in the lowermost mantle. These thermochemical provinces have likely been quasi-stable for hundreds of millions, perhaps billions of years, and plume heads rise through the mantle in about 30 Myr or less. LIPs provide a direct link between the deep Earth and the atmosphere but environmental consequences depend on both their volumes and the composition of the crustal rocks they are emplaced through. LIP activity can alter the plate tectonic setting by creating and modifying plate boundaries and hence changing the paleogeography and its long-term forcing on climate. Extensive blankets of LIP-lava on the Earth&#8217;s surface can also enhance silicate weathering and potentially lead to CO2 drawdown (cooling), but we find no clear relationship between LIPs and post-emplacement variation in atmospheric CO2 proxies on very long (>10 Myrs) time-scales. Hotspot and kimberlite volcanoes generally have relatively small climate effects compared with that of LIPs (because of volumetric and flux differences), but the eruption of large kimberlite clusters, notably in the Cretaceous, could be capable of delivering enough CO2 to the atmosphere to trigger sudden global warming events.Subduction is a key driving force behind plate tectonics but also a key driver for the long-term climate evolution through arc volcanism and degassing of CO2. Subduction fluxes derived from full-plate models provide a powerful way of estimating plate tectonic CO2 degassing (sourcing). These correlate well with zircon age frequency distributions and zircon age peaks clearly correspond to intervals of high subduction flux associated with greenhouse conditions. Lows in zircon age frequency are more variable with links to both icehouse and greenhouse conditions, and only the Permo-Carboniferous (~330-275 Ma) icehouse is clearly related to the zircon and subduction flux record. A key challenge is to develop reliable full-plate models before the Devonian in order to consider the subduction flux during the end-Ordovician Hirnantian (~445 Ma) glaciations, but we also expect refinements in subduction fluxes for Mesozoic-Cenozoic times as more advanced ocean-basin models with intra-oceanic subduction are being developed and implemented in full-plate models.

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“…This hypothesis centers on models of the onset of the PETM that are suggestive of a two-stage process at the onset of the PETM (Carozza et al, 2011). The rapid emplacement of a large cluster of Kimberlite pipes in the Lac de Gras region in northern Canada could explain the "pre-isotope excursion stage" in which large amounts (900-1100 Pg C) of methane were emitted in less than 500 years (Patterson and Francis, 2013). The second stage of warming could then be explained by the dissociation of methane clathrates that followed the initial magmatic triggering mechanism.…”

Section: Kimberlite Intrusionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A magmatic trigger for the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum?

Dubin¹

2015

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Fifty-six million years ago Earth experienced rapid global warming (~6°C) that was caused by the release of large amounts of carbon into the ocean-atmosphere system. This Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) is often cited as an analogue of anthropogenic climate change. Many trigger mechanisms for the carbon release at the PETM have been proposed. Common to all scenarios is rapid release of isotopically light carbon (< 13 C/ 12 C values) from methane hydrates, terrestrial or marine organic matter, as indicated by a pronounced excursion to light carbon isotope values across the PETM. I test the hypothesis that the PETM warming and isotope excursion were caused by the intrusion of a magmatic sill complex into organic-rich sediments in the North Atlantic. The intrusion of magma into sedimentary rocks will cause heating and metamorphic reactions in a thermal aureole around the intrusion. If these sediments are rich in organic matter, large volumes of isotopically light carbon are rapidly released. I examine geochemical evidence from lead, osmium, and organic carbon to place constraints on the extent the carbon isotope excursion during the PETM may have been caused by contact metamorphism of organic-rich sediments. Potential terrestrial and submarine analogs are examined to determine the behavior of these elements during thermal alteration. Furthermore, geochemical evidence from sediment cores at the PETM provides additional information about what might have caused the carbon isotope excursion. I find that lead is not a suitable proxy for carbon mobilization to the overlying seawater during contact metamorphism. Osmium, however, is mobilized together with carbon. Making reasonable assumptions for the 187 Os/ 188 Os of the sediments from the North Atlantic Magmatic Province (NAMP), constrained by the 187 Re/ 188 Os of organic-rich sediments and the depositional age of the sediment, the entire marine osmium isotope anomaly at the PETM could be explained without the need to invoke enhanced continental weathering. Based on estimates of the extent of mobilization of organic carbon relative to osmium, approximately 47% to 60% of the carbon released at the PETM may have been derived from thermal alteration of organic-rich sediments in the NAMP.

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Kimberlite eruptions as triggers for early Cenozoic hyperthermals

Cited by 15 publications

References 64 publications

Fine-grained interplanetary dust input during the Turonian (Late Cretaceous): evidence from osmium isotope and platinum group elements

Fine-grained interplanetary dust input during the Turonian (Late Cretaceous): evidence from osmium isotope and platinum group elements

Connecting the Deep Earth and the Atmosphere

A magmatic trigger for the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum?

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