Global weathering rates and sediment fluxes during early Cenozoic hothouse climates

 

PhD Candidate: Nikita Turton

Supervisor: Dr. Weimu Xu

Funded by: iCRAG / SFI

Abstract:

Earth’s climate is a balance between the release of atmospheric CO2 and the storage of atmospheric carbon during the weathering of rocks; however the rate and magnitude of these feedback processes are poorly understood. During the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (~55 million years ago) a massive release in CO2 – similar in magnitude expected to be released by the burning of fossil fuels – resulted in intense climatic warming, which in turn likely intensified the hydrological cycle and increased silicate weathering. This research will investigate the sedimentary and environmental response of the North Atlantic using newly drilled sediment cores from IODP Expedition 396 from the mid-Norwegian Margin in order constrain these feedback processes that control the carbon cycle and improve our understanding of the effects of greenhouse gases on global climate.