2021/12/27 by Manfredo Capriolo, Benjamin Mills, Robert J. Newton +4 · 2 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils #Geological and Geochemical Analysis #Geochemistry and Elemental Analysis
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2021.103731
openalex publication_date 2021/12/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/03
The climatic and environmental impact of exclusively volcanic CO2 emissions is assessed during the main effusive phase of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP), which is synchronous with the end-Triassic mass extinction. CAMP volcanism occurred in brief and intense eruptive pulses each producing extensive basaltic lava flows. Here, CAMP volcanic CO2 injections into the surface system are modelled using a biogeochemical box model for the carbon cycle. Our modelling shows that, even if positive feedback phenomena may be invoked to explain the carbon isotope excursions preserved in end-Triassic sedimentary records, intense and pulsed volcanic activity alone may have caused repeated temperature increases and pH drops, up to 5 °C and about 0.2 log units respectively. Hence, rapid and massive volcanic CO2 emissions from CAMP, on a similar scale to current anthropogenic emissions, severely impacted on climate and environment at a global scale, leading to catastrophic biotic consequences.