The Phanerozoic Carbon Cycle: CO[2 and O[2

by Robert A. Berner

Overview

The term "carbon cycle" is normally thought to mean those processes that govern the present-day transfer of carbon between life, the atmosphere, and the oceans. This book describes another carbon cycle, one which operates over millions of years and involves the transfer of carbon between rocks and the combination of life, the atmosphere, and the oceans. The weathering of silicate and carbonate rocks and ancient sedimentary organic matter (including recent, large-scale human-induced burning of fossil fuels), the burial of organic matter and carbonate minerals in sediments, and volcanic degassing of carbon dioxide contribute to this cycle. In The Phanerozoic Carbon Cycle, Robert Berner shows how carbon cycle models can be used to calculate levels of atmospheric CO[2 and O[2 over Phanerozoic time, the past 550 million years, and how results compare with independent methods. His analysis has implications for such disparate subjects as the evolution of land plants, the presence of giant ancient insects, the role of tectonics in paleoclimate, and the current debate over global warming and greenhouse gases

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195173338
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	08/19/2004
Pages:	158
Product dimensions:	9.21(w) x 6.14(h) x 0.44(d)

Table of Contents

1. Introduction2. Processes of the Long-term Carbon Cycle: Chemical Weathering of Silicates3. Processes of the Long-term Carbon Cycle: Organic Matter and Carbonate Burial and Weathering4. Processes of the Long-term Carbon Cycle: Degassing of Carbon Dioxide and Methane5. Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide over Phanerozoic Time6. Atmospheric O2 over Phanerozoic Time

Editorial Reviews

"This unusually readable research monograph addresses the long-term carbon cycle over the past 550 million years. Berner, a distinguished professor at Yale University, has drawn from decades of pioneering research experiences to give readers a detailed, balanced road map to carbon cycle modeling. Slender but dense, the book examines the processes that lead to the long-term carbon cycle and concludes with a chapter apiece on the evolution of atmospheric carbon dioxide and oxygen concentrations... The unique resource, well edited and with clear line graphics, is appropriate for graduate students and above and essential for carbon cycle researchers." —Choice

The author has elegantly addressed in great detail how the geological record can be used to interpret changes and processes affecting the long-term carbon cycle. He has done a marvelous job at combining and contrasting the literature to provide both succinct and comprehensive discussion detailing the historical interpretation and contemporary development of hypotheses underlying the function of the global carbon cycle."—Vadose Zone Journal

From the Publisher