Abstract
ANALYSES of gases trapped in continental ice sheets have shown that the concentration of CO2 in the Earth's early atmosphere increased from 180 to 280 p.p.m. during the most recent glacial-interglacial transition1. This change must have been driven by an increase in the concentration of CO2 dissolved in the mixed layer of the ocean2. Biochemical and physiological factors associated with photosynthetic carbon fixation in this layer should lead to a relationship between concentrations of dissolved CO2 and the carbon isotopic composition of phytoplanktonic organic material3, such that increased atmospheric CO2 should enhance the difference in 13C content between dissolved inorganic carbon and organic products of photosynthesis. Here we show that a signal related to atmospheric CO2 levels can be seen in the isotope record of a hemipelagic sediment core, which we can correlate with the CO2 record of the Vostok ice core. Calibration of the relationship between isotope fractionation and CO2 levels should permit the extrapolation of CO2 records to times earlier than those for which ice-core records are available.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barnola, J. M., Raynaud, D., Korotkevich, Y. S. & Lorius, L. Nature 329, 408–414 (1987).
Boyle, E. A. J. geophys. Res. 93, 15701–15714 (1988).
Popp, B. N., Takigiku, R., Hayes, J. M., Louda, J. W. & Baker, E. W. Am. J. Sci. 289, 436–454 (1989).
McCabe, B. thesis, Univ. of Waikato (1985).
Rau, G. H., Takahashi, T. & DesMarais, D. J. Nature 341, 516–518 (1989).
Fairbanks, R. G., Sverdlove, M., Free, R., Wiebe, P. H. & Be, A. W. H. Nature 298, 841–844 (1982).
Berger, W. H., Killingley, J. S. & Vincent, E. Oceanologica Acta 1, 203–216 (1978).
Hayes, J. M., Popp, B. N., Takigiku, R. & Johnson, R. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 53, 2961–2972 (1989).
Freeman, K. H., Hayes, J. M., Trendel, J-M. & Albrecht, P. Nature 343, 254–256 (1990).
Jasper, J. P. & Gagosian, R. B. Paleoceanography 4, 603–614 (1989).
Marlowe, I. T. et al. Br. phycol. J. 19, 203–216 (1984).
Bouma, A. H. Am. Ass. Petrol. Geol. Mem. 34, 567–581 (1983).
Bouma, A. H. et al. init. Rep. DSDP Leg 96, 777–780 (1986).
Williams, D. F. & Kohl, B. Int. Rep. DSDP Leg 96, 671–676 (1986).
Jasper, J. P. & Gagosian, R. B. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 54, 1117–1132 (1990).
Broecker, W. S. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 46, 1689–1705 (1982).
Newman, J. W., Parker, P. L. & Behrens, E. W. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 37, 225–238 (1973).
Ewing, M., Ericson, D. B. & Heezen, B. C. in Habitat of Oil (ed. Weeks, L. G.) 995–1054 (Am. Ass. Petrol. Geol., Tulsa, 1958).
Kohl, B. Init Rep. DSDP Leg 96, 657–670 (1986).
Lorius, C. et al. Nature 316, 591–596 (1985).
Tans, P. P., Fung, I. Y. & Takahashi, T. Science 247, 1431–1438 (1990).
Broecker, W. S. & van Donk, J. Rev. Geophys. Space Phys. 8, 169–189 (1978).
Jasper, J. P. & Gagosian, R. B. Nature 342, 60–62 (1989).
Steeman Nielsen, E. Marine Photosynthesis (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1975).
Farrimond, P., Eglinton, G. & Brassell, S. C. in Advances in Organic Geochemistry 1985 (eds Leythaeuser, D. & Rullkotter, J.) 897–903 (Pergamon, Oxford, 1985).
Okada, H. & Mclntyre, A. Micropaleontonology 23, 1–13 (1977).
Broecker, W. S. Prog. Oceanogr. 11, 151–197 (1982).
Shackleton, N. J., Hall, M. A., Line, J. & Cang, S. Nature 306, 319–322 (1983).
de Leeuw, J. W., van der Meer, F. W. & Rijpstra, W. I. C. in Advances in Organic Geochemistry 1979 (eds Douglas, A. G. & Maxwell, J. R.) 211–217 (Pergamon, Oxford, 1980).
Rechka, J. A. & Maxwell, J. R. Tetrahedron Lett. 29, 2599–2600 (1988).
Constans, R. E. & Parker, P. E. Init. Rep. DSDP Leg 96, 601–630 (1986).
Ledbetter, M. T. Init. Rep. DSDP Leg 96, 685–688 (1986).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jasper, J., Hayes, J. A carbon isotope record of CO2 levels during the late Quaternary. Nature 347, 462–464 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1038/347462a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/347462a0
This article is cited by
-
Rapid increase of surface water pCO2 revealed by settling particulate organic matter carbon isotope time series during 2001–2009 in Sagami Bay, Japan
Journal of Oceanography (2023)
-
Early and late phases of the Permian–Triassic mass extinction marked by different atmospheric CO2 regimes
Nature Geoscience (2022)
-
Testing algal-based pCO2 proxies at a modern CO2 seep (Vulcano, Italy)
Scientific Reports (2020)
-
The Isotopic Imprint of Life on an Evolving Planet
Space Science Reviews (2020)
-
Past and present potential of the Adriatic deep sea sediments to produce methane hydrates
Journal of Soils and Sediments (2020)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.