Major earthquakes may have cut the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over millions of years, new research carried out in New Zealand suggests.
The findings, published this month in Nature Geoscience, are the result of a research collaboration between Victoria University of Wellington, Durham University in the United Kingdom, the University of Otago and GNS Science.
Victoria University Senior Lecturer Dr Jamie Howarth says the findings are significant because it shows a clear link between tectonic activity and the climate on Earth.
"According to our findings, large earthquakes along New Zealand's Alpine Fault both mobilise and bury large amounts of carbon - and in doing so, may remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere," Dr Howarth says.
To determine the link, researchers examined sediments that have accumulated over the past 1000 years at the bottom of Lake Paringa in the Southern Alps.
"We measured the levels of carbon isotopes present in the sediment during and after earthquakes to show that earthquakes on the fault produced over 43 percent of the carbon in the biosphere released from the Alps," Dr Howarth says.
Simulations of earthquake-triggered landslides suggest 14 million tonnes of carbon are released during each Alpine Fault earthquake.
However, the findings show these same earthquakes may also draw carbon out of the atmosphere if that carbon is transported to lake and ocean basins.
Newshub.
