Publication Abstracts
Caldeira and Rampino 1991
Caldeira, K., and M.R. Rampino, 1991: The Mid-Cretaceous Super Plume, carbon dioxide, and global warming. Geophys. Res. Lett., 18, no. 6, 987-990, doi:10.1029/91GL01237.
Carbon-dioxide releases associated with a mid-Cretaceous super plume and the emplacement of the Ontong-Java Plateau have been suggested as a principal cause of the mid-Cretaceous global warming. We developed a carbonate-silicate cycle model to quantify the possible climatic effects of these CO2 releases, utilizing four different formulations for the rate of silicate-rock weathering as a function of atmospheric CO2. We find that CO2 emissions resulting from super-plume tectonics could have produced atmospheric CO2 levels from 3.7 to 14.7 times the modern pre-industrial value of 285 ppm. Based on the temperature sensitivity to CO2 increases used in the weathering-rate formulations, this would cause a global warming of from 2.8 to 7.7°C over today's global mean temperature. Altered continental positions and higher sea level may have been contributed about 4.8°C to mid-Cretaceous warming. Thus, the combined effects of paleogeographic changes and super-plume related CO2 emissions could be in the range of 7.6 to 12.5°C, within the 6 to 14°C range previously estimated for mid-Cretaceous warming. CO2 releases from oceanic plateaus alone are unlikely to have been directly responsible for more than 20% of the mid-Cretaceous increase in atmospheric CO2.
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BibTeX Citation
@article{ca01220q,
author={Caldeira, K. and Rampino, M. R.},
title={The Mid-Cretaceous Super Plume, carbon dioxide, and global warming},
year={1991},
journal={Geophysical Research Letters},
volume={18},
number={6},
pages={987--990},
doi={10.1029/91GL01237},
}
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RIS Citation
TY - JOUR ID - ca01220q AU - Caldeira, K. AU - Rampino, M. R. PY - 1991 TI - The Mid-Cretaceous Super Plume, carbon dioxide, and global warming JA - Geophys. Res. Lett. JO - Geophysical Research Letters VL - 18 IS - 6 SP - 987 EP - 990 DO - 10.1029/91GL01237 ER -
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