Illustration of the KPB Mass Extinction, the PETM, and Anthropocene Climate Warming (IMAGE)

Geological Society of America

Illustration of the KPB Mass Extinction, the PETM, and Anthropocene Climate Warming

Caption

Illustration of the KPB mass extinction, the PETM, and Anthropocene climate warming. (A) During the latest Maastrichtian environmental devastation is mainly due to volcanism (ash, aerosols and greenhouse gases), resulting in rapid climate changes, acid rains and ocean acidification that is exacerbated by the Chicxulub impact, thus impeding calcification by marine plankton at the base of the food chain. (B) During the latest Paleocene to early Eocene: Gradual climate warming preceding the PEB is attributed to North Atlantic Igneous Province volcanism (NAIP), but the rapid warming of 5 °C (PETM) is linked to methane hydrates released from continental shelves resulting in acid rain on land and ocean acidification (~170,000 years). (C) During the Anthropocene large inputs of greenhouse gases (CO2, SO2, N2O) linked to human activities and fossil fuel burning leads to rapid warming and ocean acidification at a rate exceeding those at the PETM and KPB by orders of magnitude. Global carbon budget data for the Anthropocene from Le Quéré et al. (2013). Illustration modified from Glikson (2014).

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Courtesy Paula Mateo

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Courtesy Paula Mateo

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