AGU - Carbon Buildup In Atmosphere Now @ 9-10X Rate Of Last Major Extinction Spasm 56 MYA
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A new study finds humans are pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at a rate nine to 10 times higher than the greenhouse gas was emitted during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), a global warming event that occurred roughly 56 million years ago. The results suggest if carbon emissions continue to rise, the total amount of carbon dioxide injected into the atmosphere since humans started burning fossil fuels could equal the amount released during the PETM as soon as 2159.
"You and I won't be here in 2159, but that's only about four generations away," said Philip Gingerich, a paleoclimate researcher at the University of Michigan and author of the new study in the AGU journal Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology. "When you start to think about your children and your grandchildren, and your great-grandchildren, you're about there."
Scientists often use the PETM as a benchmark against which to compare modern climate change. But the new study shows we're on track to meet this benchmark much sooner than previously thought, as the pace of today's warming far outstrips any climate event that has happened since the extinction of the dinosaurs.
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The PETM was a global warming event that occurred roughly 56 million years ago. Scientists are unsure what caused it, but during the event massive quantities of carbon dioxide were released into Earth's atmosphere, rapidly spiking global temperatures by 5 to 8 degrees Celsius (9 to 14 degrees Fahrenheit). Average global temperatures during the PETM peaked at about 23 degrees Celsius (73 degrees Fahrenheit), about 7 degrees Celsius (13 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than today's average. Scientists think that during this time and the warm period that followed, the poles were ice-free and the Arctic was home to palm trees and crocodiles. It's not the hottest Earth has ever been, but the PETM was the warmest period since the extinction of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190220112221.htm
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