Continents play a bigger role in the evolution of the climate
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Stimulus Material for depth studies, courtesy of Macquarie University
Continents play a bigger role in the evolution of the climate
Carbon dioxide stored slowly in the deep solid earth and released rapidly from continents has had a much greater role in shaping climate variations than previously thought.
New research, published in Nature Geoscience, reveals continents are 100-150 times more important than previously realised in releasing carbon into the atmosphere through volcanoes and along faults.
Macquarie University’ s Stephen Foley( Earth and Planetary Sciences), who co-authored the research, says this places continental processes firmly in the spotlight.
“ We know that carbon dioxide is important in the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas, but there is much more in the solid Earth than in the atmosphere,” he said.
“ However, we don’ t know much about how the two systems are linked, meaning at what rates how much of the carbon dioxide within the Earth is released into the atmosphere, or by which mechanisms.”
Find out more
Syllabus links: Investigating Science: Module 7- How does the reporting of science influence the general public’ s understanding of the subject?
E & E Science: Module 5- What effect does the plate tectonic supercycle have on the Earth?
FACULTY OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
16 SCIENCE EDUCATIONAL NEWS VOL 67 NO 3