Kalderon-Asael, B;
Katchinoff, JAR;
Planavsky, NJ;
Hood, AVS;
Dellinger, M;
Bellefroid, EJ;
Jones, DS;
... Pogge von Strandmann, PAE; + view all
(2021)
A lithium-isotope perspective on the evolution of carbon and silicon cycles.
Nature
, 595
(7867)
pp. 394-398.
10.1038/s41586-021-03612-1.
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Abstract
The evolution of the global carbon and silicon cycles is thought to have contributed to the long-term stability of Earth's climate. Many questions remain, however, regarding the feedback mechanisms at play, and there are limited quantitative constraints on the sources and sinks of these elements in Earth's surface environments. Here we argue that the lithium-isotope record can be used to track the processes controlling the long-term carbon and silicon cycles. By analysing more than 600 shallow-water marine carbonate samples from more than 100 stratigraphic units, we construct a new carbonate-based lithium-isotope record spanning the past 3 billion years. The data suggest an increase in the carbonate lithium-isotope values over time, which we propose was driven by long-term changes in the lithium-isotopic conditions of sea water, rather than by changes in the sedimentary alterations of older samples. Using a mass-balance modelling approach, we propose that the observed trend in lithium-isotope values reflects a transition from Precambrian carbon and silicon cycles to those characteristic of the modern. We speculate that this transition was linked to a gradual shift to a biologically controlled marine silicon cycle and the evolutionary radiation of land plants.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | A lithium-isotope perspective on the evolution of carbon and silicon cycles |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41586-021-03612-1 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03612-1 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Carbon cycle, Palaeoclimate |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Earth Sciences |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10132075 |
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