Large Igneous Provinces May Have Leaked Cryptic Carbon

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By Skyler Ware, Eos/AGU. 

Excerpt: Massive volcanic eruptions have reshaped Earth and its climate at several points in history. New research suggests that long after these surface eruptions ceased, carbon dioxide (CO2) dissolved in underground magmas could have slowly escaped to the surface. This “cryptic carbon” may have contributed to prolonged periods of warming, slow climate recovery, and mass extinctions. ...extensive volcanism has occurred in conjunction with periods of climate disruption throughout Earth’s history: Large igneous provinces emitted large volumes of greenhouse gases such as CO2 into the atmosphere, raising temperatures. These events were also sometimes accompanied by major biological changes. The eruptions of the Siberian Traps 252 million years ago coincided with massive biodiversity loss, known as the end-Permian mass extinction, or the Great Dying. But during that event, temperatures and CO2 levels remained high for about 5 million years after volcanic eruptions stopped. ...In the new study, published in Nature Geoscience, Black and his colleagues proposed ...that carbon continued to leak from the volcanoes after their eruptions ceased.... 

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