Rapid Climate Change Millions of Years Ago May Have Been Stimulated by the Presence of Tipping Point in Earth’s System

A captivating new insight has recently been revealed by scientists after they what could have possibly triggered the rapid climate change.

A Phys.org report specified that a research team led by the University of Exeter's Dr. Sev Kender has just made a pivotal breakthrough in the reason behind the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum or PETM, extreme global warming that continued for roughly 150 thousand years which was seen substantial rises in temperature.

Even though previous research has suggested volcanic activity added to the massive CO2 emissions that brought rapid climate change, the trigger for such an occurrence is less clear.

In the new research, the study authors have identified high mercury levels just before and at the PETM's outset, resulting from extensive volcanic activity, in samples collected from sedimentary cores in the North Sea.

Modern-Day Climate Change's Effect on Earth in the Coming Centuries

Essentially, the study of rock samples also showed that in PETM's early states, there was a substantial decline in mercury levels. It suggested at least one other carbon reservoir emitted substantial greenhouse gasses as the occurrence took hold.

The study specified that the presence of tipping points in the Earth's system could stimulate the emission of additional carbon reservoirs that drove the climate of Earth to exceptionally high temperatures.

A similar report from the University of Exeter said, this pioneering study, which also involved experts from the University of Oxford, the British Geological Survey, the University of California at Riverside, and Herriot-Watt University, could offer fresh insight into how modern-day climate change will impact the Earth in the coming centuries.

The study, Paleocene/Eocene carbon feedbacks triggered by volcanic activity, is published in Nature Communications.

CO2 Emission

Co-author of the study, Dr. Kender said, greenhouse gasses like CO2 methane were released into the atmosphere at the beginning of the PETM in only a few thousand years.

He added they wanted to test the hypothesis that this exceptional greenhouse gas release was stimulated by massive volcanic eruptions.

As volcanoes emit huge quantities of mercury, the researchers gauged the mercury and carbon in the sediment cores to identify any prehistoric volcanism.

As volcanoes also release large quantities of mercury, we measured the mercury and carbon in the sediment cores to detect any ancient volcanism.

The PETM Phenomenon

The PETM phenomenon, which is one of the fastest periods of warming in the history of Earth, took place as Greenland pulled away from Europe.

While the causes of how such massive quantities of CO2 were emitted to stimulate such an extensive warming period remain hidden for many years, researchers have recently suggested that volcanic activities, specifically eruptions, were the main driver.

Nonetheless, while carbon records and prototyping have suggested great amounts of volcanic carbon were released, it has been impossible to determine the trigger point until now for PETM.

In this new research, the scientists examined two new sedimentary cores from the North Sea, which exhibited high mercury levels in relation to organic carbon levels.

Such samples exhibited several peaks in mercury levels both before and at the PETM period's outset, suggesting it was stimulated by volcanic activity.

Related information on the rapid climate change is shown on CBS This Morning's YouTube video below:

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