Evolution of Carbon Cycle Dynamics (eCCD) (NERC grant NE/H022554/1)

The global carbon cycle - how much carbon is stored in its interconnected reservoirs (ocean, atmosphere, plants and soils on land, sediments in the deep sea) as well as the fluxes between them, is not set in stone. We know from the geological record that the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has varied enormously over the last few hundred million years. The chemistry of the oceans also gradually changes with time and the organisms living within it adjust and evolve. As a result, how the carbon cycle 'works', and particularly, how well (or not) atmospheric CO2 (and hence climate) is regulated in the face of disruption, also changes on geological time-scales. This creates challenges to understanding the causes and consequences of past global warming like events and how such events can be related to potential future changes. Sediments slowly accumulating in the deep ocean reflect what goes on around and above them, both chemically and biologically. Of particular interest to us is the mineral calcium carbonate (CaCO3), which can be found in the form of chalk and limestone rocks today. CaCO3 is used by certain marine organisms for constructing shells and skeletons. Hence, the amount of CaCO3 that in buried in sediments tells us something about ancient organisms and ecosystems. In addition, CaCO3 will start dissolving in seawater if the conditions too are acidic or the depth (and thus pressure) too great. How much CaCO3 originally created by organisms at the surface that escapes dissolution in sediments below to be buried and preserved in the geological record can thus tell us something about the chemistry, depth, and when data from many locations is available, the circulation of the ocean in the past. Looking for subtle changes in the composition of ancient mud in the hundreds and hundreds of meters of sediment core recovered from the ocean floor by drill ship would be a little like looking for a needle in a haystack. However, Nature has been kind to us and the transition from white-colored sediments rich in the carbonate shells of dead marine organisms to clays devoid of carbonate is easy to spot. This point represents a fine balance between the amount of shell material being deposited to the sediments and the rate of dissolution of these shells. Hence, this reflects a certain relationship between surface ocean biological processes and deep ocean chemistry and circulation. Any change in these factors will drive sediments rich in CaCO3 or devoid of any trace of carbonate secreting organisms. In this project we will compile the records from many hundreds of different sediment cores that have been recovered since the 1960s. Will identify the 'balance point' in these cores (if one exists) and combine all the confirmation to reconstruct how this balance point has changed in depth and time in the different ocean basins. Because the age of the sediments in some cores extends back to well before the white cliffs of Dover were deposited, we will start our record there. The interpretation of our curve will not be entirely straightforward, because multiple environmental influences all push and pull the balance point in different directions and with different strengths. We will therefore also use a computer model representation of the Earth's climate and oceans, its carbon cycle, ocean chemistry, and the composition of sediments in the deep sea. We will use this model to explore how the different aspects of the global carbon cycle affect the balance point, and by comparing model predictions to our new curve, interpret how the carbon cycling and the sensitivity of atmospheric pCO2 (and hence climate) to being perturbed by massive greenhouse gas release, has changed over the past 150 million years. Hence we will not only be able to answer the question: do we live in a particularly 'lucky' or 'unlucky' time in terms of how sensitive our global environment is burning fossil fuels, but we will know why.

Date (Publication): 2012-08

Citation identifier: http://data.bgs.ac.uk/id/dataHolding/13606911

Point of contact

Organisation name	Individual name	Electronic mail address	Role
University of Southampton	Heiko palike	not available	Point of contact
University of Southampton	Heiko palike	not available	Principal investigator

Maintenance and update frequency: notApplicable

GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0

Geology

BGS Thesaurus of Geosciences

Cenozoic
Carbon cycle
Eocene
Carbon dioxide
NGDC Deposited Data
Marine sediments
Calcium carbonates

dataCentre

NGDC Deposited Data

Keywords

NERC_DDC

Access constraints: Other restrictions

Other constraints: no limitations

Other constraints: The dataset is made freely available for access, e.g. via the Internet. Either no third party data / information is contained in the dataset or BGS has secured written permission from the owner(s) of any third party data / information contained in the dataset to make the dataset freely accessible.

Use constraints: Other restrictions

Other constraints: The copyright of materials derived from the British Geological Survey's work is vested in the Natural Environment Research Council [NERC]. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the prior permission of the copyright holder, via the BGS Intellectual Property Rights Manager. Use by customers of information provided by the BGS, is at the customer's own risk. In view of the disparate sources of information at BGS's disposal, including such material donated to BGS, that BGS accepts in good faith as being accurate, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) gives no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the quality or accuracy of the information supplied, or to the information's suitability for any use. NERC/BGS accepts no liability whatever in respect of loss, damage, injury or other occurence however caused.

Other constraints: Either: (i) the dataset is made freely available, e.g. via the Internet, for a restricted category of use (e.g. educational use only); or (ii) the dataset has not been formally approved by BGS for access and use by external clients under licence, but its use may be permitted under alternative formal arrangements; or (iii) the dataset contains 3rd party data or information obtained by BGS under terms and conditions that must be consulted in order to determine the permitted usage of the dataset. Refer to the BGS staff member responsible for the creation of the dataset if further advice is required. He / she should be familiar with the composition of the dataset, particularly with regard to 3rd party IPR contained in it, and any resultant use restrictions. This staff member should revert to the IPR Section ( ipr@bgs.ac.uk) for advice, should the position not be clear.

Language: English

Topic category

Geoscientific information

Geographic identifier: PACIFIC OCEAN [id=2002258]
British Geological Survey Gazetteer: Gazetteer of sea areas 2010 revision

Begin date: 2011-01

End date: 2014-06

Supplemental Information: NERC grant NE/H022554/1. The spreadsheet contains rheology data for 39 samples of syrup containing air bubbles and/or spherical glass particles. These data were used by Truby et al. (2014) to support a model for the rheology of a three-phase suspension. Each sample was placed in the rheometer (concentric cylinder geometry), and the stress was stepped up and then down, taking a measurement of strain rate at each step. Further details of the experiments may be found in Truby et al. (2014). The name of each worksheet matches the name of each sample, and the columns on each sheet are as follows: 1.phi p: volume of particles/total volume 2.phi b *: volume of bubbles/total volume 3.mu 0: pure fluid viscosity (in Pa s) 4.Diameters: bubble diameter measurements (in µm) for most samples containing bubbles 5.step: stress steps as labelled by the rheometer 6.t in s: time since sample was placed in rheometer (in s) 7.t_seg in s: time since start of each "leg" of measurements (in s) 8.in Pa: stress measurements (in Pa) 9.A in 1/s: strain rate measurements (in s-1) Truby JM, Mueller SP, Llewellin EW, Mader HM. 2014. The rheology of three-phase suspensions at low bubble capillary number. Proceedings of the Royal Society A. (sub judice)

Reference System Information

No information provided.

Distribution format

Name	Version

OnLine resource

Protocol	Linkage	Name
	http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v488/n7413/full/nature11360.html

OnLine resource

Protocol	Linkage	Name
	https://www.bgs.ac.uk/services/ngdc/accessions/index.html#item15761

Hierarchy level: Non geographic dataset

Other: non geographic dataset

Conformance result

Title: INSPIRE Implementing rules laying down technical arrangements for the interoperability and harmonisation of Geology

Date (Publication): 2011

Explanation: See the referenced specification

Pass: No

Conformance result

Title: Commission Regulation (EU) No 1089/2010 of 23 November 2010 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards interoperability of spatial data sets and services

Date (Publication): 2010-12-08

Explanation: See http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2010:323:0011:0102:EN:PDF

Pass: No

Statement: For lineage information see published paper, A Cenozoic record of the equatorial Pacific carbonate compensation depth by Heiko Palike, et al (doi:10.1038/nature11360)