英国圣安德鲁斯大学Jurikova Hana团队最近的研究显示，晚古生代冰期的结束由大气中CO2的快速上升所指示。相关论文于2025年1月6日发表在《自然—地球科学》杂志上。
据了解，大气中的CO2在地球气候调节中起着至关重要的作用。然而，在地球地质历史的大部分时间里，大气中的CO2难以被限制，阻碍了人们对其在冷暖气候之间转换的理解。晚古生代冰期始于距今约3.7亿年前的晚泥盆纪，结束于距今约2.6亿年前的二叠纪，是当前晚新生代冰期之前的最后一次大冰期，也可能是复杂生命形式所见证的最强烈的冰期。
从Mississippian中期到3.3亿年前的晚古生代冰期主要阶段开始，地球被认为一直处于冰川状态中，大陆冰在高纬度到中纬度地区积累。
研究团队提供了一个在强力量化CO2代理框架内的8000万年的硼同位素记录。记录显示，晚古生代冰期的主要阶段是由长时间的低CO2维持的，这在地球历史上是前所未有的。大约2.94亿年前，大气中的CO2急剧上升（4倍），使地球摆脱了倒数第二个冰期，并将早二叠纪变成了一个更温暖的世界。
附：英文原文
Title: Rapid rise in atmospheric CO2 marked the end of the Late Palaeozoic Ice Age
Author: Jurikova, Hana, Garbelli, Claudio, Whiteford, Ross, Reeves, Theodore, Laker, Gemma M., Liebetrau, Volker, Gutjahr, Marcus, Eisenhauer, Anton, Savickaite, Kotryna, Leng, Melanie J., Iurino, Dawid Adam, Viaretti, Marco, Tomaovch, Adam, Zhang, Yuchen, Wang, Wen-qian, Shi, G. R., Shen, Shu-zhong, Rae, James W. B., Angiolini, Lucia
Issue&Volume: 2025-01-06
Abstract: Atmospheric CO2 is thought to play a fundamental role in Earth’s climate regulation. Yet, for much of Earth’s geological past, atmospheric CO2 has been poorly constrained, hindering our understanding of transitions between cool and warm climates. Beginning ~370 million years ago in the Late Devonian and ending ~260 million years ago in the Permian, the Late Palaeozoic Ice Age was the last major glaciation preceding the current Late Cenozoic Ice Age and possibly the most intense glaciation witnessed by complex lifeforms. From the onset of the main phase of the Late Palaeozoic Ice Age in the mid-Mississippian ~330 million years ago, the Earth is thought to have sustained glacial conditions, with continental ice accumulating in high to mid-latitudes. Here we present an 80-million-year-long boron isotope record within a proxy framework for robust quantification of CO2. Our record reveals that the main phase of the Late Palaeozoic Ice Age glaciation was maintained by prolonged low CO2, unprecedented in Earth’s history. About 294 million years ago, atmospheric CO2 rose abruptly (4-fold), releasing the Earth from its penultimate ice age and transforming the Early Permian into a warmer world.
DOI: 10.1038/s41561-024-01610-2
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-024-01610-2