Mass extinctions, atmospheric sulphur and climatic warming at the K/T boundary
@article{Rampino1988MassEA, title={Mass extinctions, atmospheric sulphur and climatic warming at the K/T boundary}, author={Michael R. Rampino and Tyler Volk}, journal={Nature}, year={1988}, volume={332}, pages={63-65} }
A connection has recently been proposed between cloud albedo over the oceans and the release of dimethyl sulphide (DMS) by marine algae. DMS acts as a precursor for most of the cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) in the marine atmosphere1. The mass extinctions at the Cretaceous/Tertiary (K/T) boundary include about 90% of marine calcareous nannoplankton2,3, and carbon isotope data show that marine primary productivity as a whole was drastically reduced for at least several tens of thousands of…
41 Citations
Biogeochemical modeling at mass extinction boundaries: Atmospheric carbon dioxide and ocean alkalinity at the K/T boundary
- Environmental Science, Geography
- 1990
The causes of mass extinctions and the importance of major bio-events in the history of life are subjects of considerable scientific interest. A large amount of geological, geochemical, and…
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- Environmental ScienceGeophysical research letters
- 1990
It is concluded that the direct climate effects of CO2 emissions from the Deccan eruptions would have been too weak to be an important factor in the end-Cretaceous mass extinctions.
Geochemical evidence for suppression of pelagic marine productivity at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary
- Environmental Science, GeographyNature
- 1989
The normal, biologically productive ocean is characterized by a gradient of the 13C/12C ratio from surface to deep waters. Here we present stable isotope data from planktonic and benthic…
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- Environmental Science, GeologyGeologische Rundschau : Zeitschrift fur allgemeine Geologie
- 1996
The K/T event can be explained in terms of the effects of the Deccan volcanism on an already stressed biosphere, as investigations show that the oceans were already stressed by the end of the Late Cretaceous as a result of the long-term drop in atmospheric CO2, the long term drop in sea level and the frequent development of oceanic anoxia.
Global ocean‐to‐atmosphere dimethyl sulfide flux
- Environmental Science
- 1990
The global ocean-to-atmosphere flux of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) is calculated on a monthly basis with 4.5°×7.5° latitude/longitude spatial resolution. An atmospheric general circulation model, the…
Organic-chemical clues to the theory of impacts as a cause of mass extinctions
- Geology
- 1988
The reasons for the mass extinctions, which occur from time to time in Earth's history-as, e.g., the dinosaur extinction at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary 65 myr ago - are still not satisfactorily…
Implications of isotopic and other geochemical data from a Cretaceous-Tertiary transition in southern Africa
- Geography, Environmental Science
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- Geography, Environmental Science
- 1989
Evidence for extrinsic influences on the biosphere will certainly aid in comprehending the nature of biohistorical events, such as mass extinctions, and may well be responsible for...
A CAUSE OF MASS EXTINCTIONS
- Geology
- 1988
The reasons for the mass extinctions, which occur from time to time in Earth's history -as, e.g., the dinosaur extinction at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary 65 myr ago - are still not satisfactorily…
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