Carbon cycles and mass extinction

A study outlines a mathematical model to explain the relationship between the oceans' store of carbon and environmental disruptions that accompany mass extinctions, and suggests that Earth's carbon cycle determines the magnitude of disruption, although additional input from external sources influence surges resulting from mass extinctions; the findings suggest that disruptions occur when a relatively modest flux of CO2 into oceans agitates a stable steady state beyond a threshold, causing the carbon cycle to amplify the disturbance.

Article #19-05164: "Characteristic disruptions of an excitable carbon cycle," by Daniel H. Rothman.

MEDIA CONTACT: Daniel H. Rothman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA; tel: 617-253-7861; email: dhr@mit.edu

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