A 35-million-year record of seawater stable Sr isotopes reveals a fluctuating global carbon cycle
Adina Paytan, Elizabeth M. Griffith, Anton Eisenhauer, Mathis P. Hain, Klaus Wallmann, Andy Ridgwell
Abstract
Carbon cycle history Marine carbon includes organic and inorganic components, both of which must be accounted for to understand the global carbon cycle. Paytan et al. assembled a record of stable strontium isotopes ( 88 Sr and 86 Sr) derived from pelagic marine barite and used it to reconstruct changes in the deposition and burial of biogenic calcium carbonate in marine sediments. These data, when combined with measurements of 87 Sr/ 86 Sr, can help to reveal past changes in the sources and sinks of strontium, as well as variations in carbonate deposition that affect the carbon cycle. Science , this issue p. 1346
Topics & Concepts
SeawaterCarbon cycleStrontiumIsotopes of carbonIsotopes of strontiumPelagic zoneOceanographyIsotopeStable isotope ratioEnvironmental scienceCarbon fibersEnvironmental chemistryCarbon dioxideClimate changeCarbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphereGeologyEarth scienceChemistryEcologyTotal organic carbonBiologyMaterials scienceEcosystemPhysicsComposite numberComposite materialOrganic chemistryQuantum mechanicsGeology and Paleoclimatology ResearchMethane Hydrates and Related PhenomenaIsotope Analysis in Ecology