Chen, B; Chen, J; Qie, W; Huang, P; He, T; Joachimski, MM; Regelous, M; ... Algeo, TJ; + view all Chen, B; Chen, J; Qie, W; Huang, P; He, T; Joachimski, MM; Regelous, M; Pogge von Strandmann, PAE; Liu, J; Wang, X; Montañez, IP; Algeo, TJ; - view fewer (2021) Was climatic cooling during the earliest Carboniferous driven by expansion of seed plants? Earth and Planetary Science Letters , 565 , Article 116953. 10.1016/j.epsl.2021.116953.

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Abstract

The expansion of land plants is considered to have played a key role in triggering the Late Paleozoic Ice Age (LPIA), but evidence linking climatic events to terrestrial floral changes is limited. Here, we generated bulk carbonate δ^{13}C, conodont δ^{18}O and {87}^Sr/{86}^Sr profiles from the lowermost Carboniferous of South China and Vietnam in order to investigate their relationship to contemporaneous land plant evolution. Climatic cooling in the mid-Tournaisian coincided with large perturbations to the global carbon cycle and continental weathering regimes as well as with a major diversification episode among seed plants. These relationships are consistent with terrestrial floral changes triggering intensified weathering of basalts (i.e., lower {87}^Sr/{86}^Sr), enhanced marine productivity (i.e., higher δ^{13}Ccarb), and reduced atmospheric pCO_{2} and attendant global cooling (i.e., higher conodont δ^{18}O). The results of our study suggest that expansion of terrestrial floras was a key driver of Early Carboniferous climate change.

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