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A Pronounced Spike in Ocean Productivity Triggered by the Chicxulub Impact
Author(s) -
Brugger Julia,
Feulner Georg,
Hofmann Matthias,
Petri Stefan
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2020gl092260
Subject(s) - biosphere , extinction event , carbon cycle , environmental science , oceanography , geology , isotopes of carbon , ocean acidification , atmospheric sciences , climatology , climate change , ecosystem , total organic carbon , ecology , biological dispersal , population , demography , sociology , biology
Abstract There is increasing evidence linking the mass‐extinction event at the Cretaceous‐Paleogene boundary to an asteroid impact near Chicxulub, Mexico. Here we use model simulations to explore the combined effect of sulfate aerosols, carbon dioxide and dust from the impact on the oceans and the marine biosphere in the immediate aftermath of the impact. We find a strong temperature decrease, a brief algal bloom caused by nutrients from both the deep ocean and the projectile, and moderate surface ocean acidification. Comparing the modeled longer‐term post‐impact warming and changes in carbon isotopes with empirical evidence points to a substantial release of carbon from the terrestrial biosphere. Overall, our results shed light on the decades to centuries after the Chicxulub impact which are difficult to resolve with proxy data.