Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Clay minerals store organic carbon and cool Earth’s climate over millions of years

  • Research Briefing
  • Published:

From Nature Geoscience

View current issue Submit your manuscript

An integrated model of mineral weathering and carbon cycling reveals the substantial influence that clay minerals originating from the weathering of magnesium-rich rocks have on Earth’s climate. This research indicates that this clay-forming process contributed to each Palaeozoic glaciation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1: Carbon cycle model results.

References

  1. Macdonald, F. A. et al. Arc-continent collisions in the tropics set Earth’s climate state. Science 364, 181–184 (2019). This paper shows a correlation between arc–continent collisions and glacial climates over the past 540 million years.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Kennedy, M. J. et al. Mineral surface control of organic carbon in black shale. Science 295, 5555 (2002). This work shows a strong link between clay surface area and the preservation of organic carbon in sedimentary rocks.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Alcott, L. J. et al. Earth’s Great Oxidation Event facilitated by the rise of sedimentary phosphorus recycling. Nat. Geosci. 15, 3 (2022). A review article that discusses the evolution of Earth’s atmosphere and the rise of oxygen in relation to photosynthesis and nutrients.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Milliman, J. D. & Farnsworth K. L. River Discharge to the Coastal Ocean: A Global Synthesis (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2013). This book compiles known water and sediment delivery by Earth’s rivers.

  5. Ehlmann, B. L. et al. Identification of hydrated silicate minerals on Mars using MRO‐CRISM: Geologic context near Nili Fossae and implications for aqueous alteration. J. Geophys. Res. Planets 114, E2 (2009). A research article that shows evidence for abundant clay minerals around the ancient, ultramafic regions of Mars.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This is a summary of: Murray, J. & Jagoutz, O. Palaeozoic cooling modulated by ophiolite weathering through organic carbon preservation. Nat. Geosci. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01342-9 (2023).

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Clay minerals store organic carbon and cool Earth’s climate over millions of years. Nat. Geosci. 17, 8–9 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01353-6

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01353-6

  • Springer Nature Limited

Search

Navigation