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Evidence for a spike in mantle carbon outgassing during the Ediacaran period

Nature Geoscience volume 10, pages 930–934 (2017)Cite this article

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Abstract

Long-term cycles in Earth’s climate are thought to be primarily controlled by changes in atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Changes in carbon emissions from volcanic activity can create an imbalance in the carbon cycle. Large-scale changes in volcanic activity have been inferred from proxies such as the age abundance of detrital zircons, but the magnitude of carbon emissions depends on the style of volcanism as well as the amount. Here we analyse U–Pb age and trace element data of detrital zircons from Antarctica and compare the results with the global rock record. We identify a spike in CO2-rich carbonatite and alkaline magmatism during the Ediacaran period. Before the Ediacaran, secular cooling of the mantle and the advent of cooler subduction regimes promoted the sequestration of carbon derived from decarbonation of subducting oceanic slabs in the mantle. We infer that subsequent magmatism led to the extensive release of carbon that may at least in part be recorded in the Shuram–Wonoka carbon isotope excursion. We therefore suggest that this pulse of alkaline volcanism reflects a profound reorganization of the Neoproterozoic deep and surface carbon cycles and promoted planetary warming before the Cambrian radiation.

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Fig. 1: Early Palaeozoic Gondwana reconstruction showing alkaline and carbonatite igneous complexes approximately 700–500 Ma.
Fig. 2: Cumulative PDPs and histograms.
Fig. 3: Neoproterozoic–Cambrian U–Pb detrital zircon age and chemostratigraphic data in context of tectonic, volcanic and Snowball Earth episodes.

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Acknowledgements

This research used rock samples provided by the United States Polar Rock Repository and New Zealand PETLAB rock collections. The authors acknowledge support from NSF-0835480 to T.P., the UW Oshkosh EAA/CR Meyer and Penson Endowed Professorships and Faculty Development Program and the Scientific Center for Optical and Electron Microscopy ScopeM of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETHZ. We thank E. Stump and G. Gehrels for zircons provided from four samples.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Oshkosh, WI, USA

    Timothy Paulsen

  2. Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, USA

    Chad Deering

  3. Institute of Geochemistry and Petrology, Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Jakub Sliwinski, Olivier Bachmann & Marcel Guillong

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Contributions

T.P. and C.D. conceived the study. T.P. procured samples and mineral separates. J.S. conducted imaging, U–Pb age and trace element analyses. All authors participated in the interpretation of results and read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Timothy Paulsen.

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Supplementary Table 1

Listing sample information and zircon U–Pb age and trace element results

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Paulsen, T., Deering, C., Sliwinski, J. et al. Evidence for a spike in mantle carbon outgassing during the Ediacaran period. Nature Geosci 10, 930–934 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-017-0011-6

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