Climate of the Past
Climate of the Past
CP
Articles | Volume 20, issue 12
Articles | Volume 20, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2685-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2685-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Articles | Volume 20, issue 12
Research article
 | 
12 Dec 2024
Research article |  | 12 Dec 2024

Variations in the biological pump throughout the Miocene: evidence from organic carbon burial in Pacific Ocean sediments

Mitchell Lyle and Annette Olivarez Lyle

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2685-2024-supplement

Data sets

Data to reconstruct biogenic sedimentary component time series from the Miocene Pacific to study the biological pump [dataset bundled publication] Mitchell W. Lyle and Annette Olivarez Lyle https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.974057

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Short summary
Greenhouse gases were key in maintaining past warm intervals, but feedbacks are needed to sustain high atmospheric CO2 levels. We assess whether changes in the ocean degradation depth of plankton-produced organic matter (particulate organic carbon – POC) affect ocean carbon storage. Limited POC burial in sediments during the Miocene Climate Optimum (MCO) warm interval, relative to recent periods, suggests poorer POC transfer to the abyss, leading to the MCO's higher atmospheric CO2 levels.
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