Coupled carbon isotopic and sedimentological records from the Permian system of eastern Australia reveal the response of atmospheric carbon dioxide to glacial growth and decay during the late Paleozoic Ice Age

Authors

Lauren P. Birgenheier, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Tracy D. Frank, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Christopher R. Fielding, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Michael C. Rygel, State University of New York at PotsdamFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2-2010

Comments

Published in Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 286:3–4 (February 15, 2010), pp. 178–193; doi: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2010.01.008 Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. Used by permission.

Abstract

Proxy geochemical records from high-latitude, ice-proximal deposits have the potential to provide key insights into past icehouse climates, but such records are rare. The Permian System of eastern Australia contains a rich record of environmental and climatic changes that occurred in areas proximal to glaciation during the acme and waning stages of the late Paleozoic ice age. Within this succession, a wealth of fine-grained, organic matter-rich facies provides an opportunity to construct a bulk δ¹³C_org record that records changes in atmospheric CO₂ through the Permian. Fluctuations in δ¹³C_org track changes in climate determined independently on the basis of sedimentological criteria in the same strata. These patterns are also broadly consistent with multiple proxy records derived from paleoequatorial sites. The results of this geochemical investigation 1) support recent studies using the high-latitude, ice-proximal, sedimentologic and stratigraphic record and paleoequatorial geochemical proxies that document highly variable climatic conditions within the overall Permian icehouse-to-greenhouse transition, and 2) confirms that the sedimentary record of glaciation from eastern Australia reflects global changes in atmospheric CO₂ on several m.y.-order timescales.