Carbon isotope perturbations are not primarily driven by volcanism during the Late Paleozoic Ice Age
Abstract The late Paleozoic ice age (LPIA) was the longest-lived glaciation of the Phanerozoic, and its demise marks Earth’s only recorded transition from an icehouse to a greenhouse state since the occurrence of vascular plants and complex terrestrial ecosystem. While global volcanism has been wide...
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| Format: | Article |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Communications Earth & Environment |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02678-3 |
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| author | Luojing Wang Dawei Lv Zhihui Zhang Stephen E. Grasby John L. Isbell Jun Shen Jianghai Yang |
| author_facet | Luojing Wang Dawei Lv Zhihui Zhang Stephen E. Grasby John L. Isbell Jun Shen Jianghai Yang |
| author_sort | Luojing Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The late Paleozoic ice age (LPIA) was the longest-lived glaciation of the Phanerozoic, and its demise marks Earth’s only recorded transition from an icehouse to a greenhouse state since the occurrence of vascular plants and complex terrestrial ecosystem. While global volcanism has been widely considered a key driver of carbon cycle during this period, limited high-resolution records have constrained our understanding. Here, we use high-resolution carbon isotope and mercury records from the North China Craton, spanning the late Gzhelian to early Kungurian stages, to evaluate the relationship between carbon cycle perturbation and volcanism. We identify two negative carbon isotope excursions during the late Gzhelian and early Asselian, both coinciding with climate warming. Our data reveal a variable relationship between carbon cycle disturbances and mercury records, suggesting volcanism was not the only trigger. Instead, they may result from the superimposition of multiple mechanisms, including tundra conditions, methane release, or orbitally-paced climate changes. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-151ad56f4c894a4db970d8ccb63894ce |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2662-4435 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Earth & Environment |
| spelling | doaj-art-151ad56f4c894a4db970d8ccb63894ce2025-08-24T11:52:46ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Earth & Environment2662-44352025-08-016111310.1038/s43247-025-02678-3Carbon isotope perturbations are not primarily driven by volcanism during the Late Paleozoic Ice AgeLuojing Wang0Dawei Lv1Zhihui Zhang2Stephen E. Grasby3John L. Isbell4Jun Shen5Jianghai Yang6Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Depositional Mineralization and Sedimentary Minerals, College of Earth Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and TechnologyShandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Depositional Mineralization and Sedimentary Minerals, College of Earth Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and TechnologyShandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Depositional Mineralization and Sedimentary Minerals, College of Earth Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and TechnologyGeological Survey of Canada, Natural Resources CanadaDepartment of Geosciences, University of Wisconsin-MilwaukeeState Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of GeosciencesState Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of GeosciencesAbstract The late Paleozoic ice age (LPIA) was the longest-lived glaciation of the Phanerozoic, and its demise marks Earth’s only recorded transition from an icehouse to a greenhouse state since the occurrence of vascular plants and complex terrestrial ecosystem. While global volcanism has been widely considered a key driver of carbon cycle during this period, limited high-resolution records have constrained our understanding. Here, we use high-resolution carbon isotope and mercury records from the North China Craton, spanning the late Gzhelian to early Kungurian stages, to evaluate the relationship between carbon cycle perturbation and volcanism. We identify two negative carbon isotope excursions during the late Gzhelian and early Asselian, both coinciding with climate warming. Our data reveal a variable relationship between carbon cycle disturbances and mercury records, suggesting volcanism was not the only trigger. Instead, they may result from the superimposition of multiple mechanisms, including tundra conditions, methane release, or orbitally-paced climate changes.https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02678-3 |
| spellingShingle | Luojing Wang Dawei Lv Zhihui Zhang Stephen E. Grasby John L. Isbell Jun Shen Jianghai Yang Carbon isotope perturbations are not primarily driven by volcanism during the Late Paleozoic Ice Age Communications Earth & Environment |
| title | Carbon isotope perturbations are not primarily driven by volcanism during the Late Paleozoic Ice Age |
| title_full | Carbon isotope perturbations are not primarily driven by volcanism during the Late Paleozoic Ice Age |
| title_fullStr | Carbon isotope perturbations are not primarily driven by volcanism during the Late Paleozoic Ice Age |
| title_full_unstemmed | Carbon isotope perturbations are not primarily driven by volcanism during the Late Paleozoic Ice Age |
| title_short | Carbon isotope perturbations are not primarily driven by volcanism during the Late Paleozoic Ice Age |
| title_sort | carbon isotope perturbations are not primarily driven by volcanism during the late paleozoic ice age |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02678-3 |
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