Paleo-pCO2 Database 60 Million Year Boron Isotope and CO2 Data Pearson, P.N.; Palmer, M.R. Pearson, P.N. Palmer, M.R. Atmospheric Gas Reconstruction earth science/paleoclimate/climate forcing|climate reconstructions|paleoceanography (age,null,null,calendar year before present,null,climate forcing|climate reconstructions|paleoceanography,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/climate reconstructions|paleoceanography (pH,delta 11B,null,dimensionless,null,climate reconstructions|paleoceanography,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/climate forcing|climate reconstructions|paleoceanography (age,null,two standard deviations lower bound,calendar year before present,null,climate forcing|climate reconstructions|paleoceanography,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleoceanography (delta 11B,planktic foraminifer,two standard deviations,per mil,null,paleoceanography,null,thermal ionization mass spectrometry,N,N-TIMS) earth science/paleoclimate/climate forcing|climate reconstructions|paleoceanography (age,null,two standard deviations upper bound,calendar year before present,null,climate forcing|climate reconstructions|paleoceanography,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/climate forcing|paleoceanography (carbon dioxide,bulk atmosphere,null,parts per million,null,climate forcing|paleoceanography,null,null,N,based on planktic foram delta 11B) earth science/paleoclimate/paleoceanography (delta 11B,planktic foraminifer,null,per mil,null,paleoceanography,averaged,thermal ionization mass spectrometry,N,N-TIMS) earth science/paleoclimate/climate forcing|paleoceanography (carbon dioxide,bulk atmosphere,two standard deviations lower bound,parts per million,null,climate forcing|paleoceanography,null,null,N,based on planktic foram delta 11B) earth science/paleoclimate/climate reconstructions|paleoceanography (pH,delta 11B,two standard deviations upper bound,dimensionless,null,climate reconstructions|paleoceanography,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/climate forcing|paleoceanography (carbon dioxide,bulk atmosphere,two standard deviations upper bound,parts per million,null,climate forcing|paleoceanography,null,null,N,based on planktic foram delta 11B) earth science/paleoclimate/climate reconstructions|paleoceanography (pH,delta 11B,two standard deviations lower bound,dimensionless,null,climate reconstructions|paleoceanography,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/climate forcing (ODP 872>LATITUDE 10.1>LONGITUDE 162.867) (ODP 871>LATITUDE 5.5572>LONGITUDE 172.3443) (ODP 865C>LATITUDE 18.440167>LONGITUDE -179.555667) Knowledge of the evolution of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations throughout the Earth's history is important for a reconstruction of the links between climate and radiative forcing of the Earth's surface temperatures. Although atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations in the early Cenozoic era (about 60 Myr ago) are widely believed to have been higher than at present, there is disagreement regarding the exact carbon dioxide levels, the timing of the decline and the mechanisms that are most important for the control of CO2 concentrations over geological timescales. Here we use the boron-isotope ratios of ancient planktonic foraminifer shells to estimate the pH of surface-layer sea water throughout the past 60 million years, which can be used to reconstruct atmospheric CO2 concentrations. We estimate CO2 concentrations of more than 2,000 p.p.m. for the late Palaeocene and earliest Eocene periods (from about 60 to 52 Myr ago), and find an erratic decline between 55 and 40 Myr ago that may have been caused by reduced CO2 outgassing from ocean ridges, volcanoes and metamorphic belts and increased carbon burial. Since the early Miocene (about 24 Myr ago), atmospheric CO2 concentrations appear to have remained below 500 p.p.m. and were more stable than before, although transient intervals of CO2 reduction may have occurred during periods of rapid cooling approximately 15 and 3 Myr ago. STUDY NOTES: Paleo-CO2 derived from boron isotope measurements on planktonic foraminifera in western Pacific sediment samples from Ocean Drilling Program Sites 865, 871 and 872 for the past 60 million years, contributed to the Paleo-pCO2 Database NCDC-Paleoclimatology https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/paleoclimatology-data - Bauer Bruce Investigator : Pearson, P.N. Investigator : Palmer, M.R. 2018-04-27 ONLINE Files online, ASCII https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/23910 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/climate_forcing/trace_gases/Paleo-pCO2/pearson2000boron.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/climate_forcing/trace_gases/Paleo-pCO2/pearson2000boron.xlsx https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/climate_forcing/trace_gases/Paleo-pCO2/pearson2000boron.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/climate_forcing/trace_gases/Paleo-pCO2/pearson2000boron.xlsx English https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/23910 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/climate_forcing/trace_gases/Paleo-pCO2/pearson2000boron.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/climate_forcing/trace_gases/Paleo-pCO2/pearson2000boron.xlsx Paul N. Pearson and Martin R. Palmer2000Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations over the past 60 million yearsNature406695-69910.1038/35021000https://www.nature.com/articles/35021000 START YEAR: 59880000 cal yr BP * END YEAR: 85000 cal yr BP -179.555667 5.5572 172.3443 18.440167