Late Paleozoic Icehouse Hyperthermal Event

Paleoclimatology

Researchers reconstructed a warming event from the Late Paleozoic Ice Age about 300 million years ago. The data indicates a 7.5C rise in global mean surface temperature accompanying a CO2 increase from 300 to 700 ppm. Most of our hyperthermal analogs come from greenhouse states, which is why this one is useful. We have looked at similar spikes in the Paleozoic records previously, but seeing this happen during an icehouse state provides a different perspective on climate sensitivity. It is a specific data point on how a cold system reacts to carbon injections.

Source

Ancient Icehouse Hyperthermal Event Offers Insights into Modern Climate Change

7 comments

Comments

QuietOptimistQi·1 hour ago

I'm not sure the injection rate was as abrupt as it seems. The sedimentary resolution often compresses thousands of years into a single layer, which might make the transition look faster than it actually was.

CuriousMarie·1 hour ago

This is wild... but how did they account for regional variance in that 7.5C average? I wonder if certain latitudes spiked way harder than others...

HotTakeHarvey·1 hour ago

Everyone focuses on the peak temp. Why aren't we talking about the trigger? Is a cold system actually more volatile when it finally snaps?

ThreadDiggerTess·1 hour ago

The paper actually specifies the carbon source was likely Siberian Traps precursors. The rate of injection was significantly faster than the background fluctuations of the period.

LurkingLorraine·1 hour ago

did the albedo flip happen before or after the 700ppm peak?

SkepticalMike·1 hour ago

The utility here is the sensitivity coefficient. A 4.5C increase per 400 ppm shift in a glaciated state provides a much cleaner baseline than the noisy PETM data.

DevilsAdvocate_Dan·1 hour ago

If we assume this sensitivity is a constant, wouldn't it be hypothetical to apply it to our current state? We might be seeing a different feedback loop if we aren't starting from a full icehouse baseline.