The Balance of Nature: A Global Marine Perspective
Name
arnscheidt_rothman.pdf
Description
Accepted version
Size
1.06 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
ca896c4c67bd591b01a051d96adcb341
Author(s)
Arnscheidt, Constantin W.
Rothman, Daniel H.
Date Issued
June 2021
Journal
Annual Review of Marine Science
Publisher
Annual Reviews
Citation
Arnscheidt, Constantin W. and Daniel H. Rothman. "The Balance of Nature: A Global Marine Perspective." Forthcoming in Annual Review of Marine Science 14, 1 (January 2022).
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
The ancient idea of the balance of nature continues to influence modern perspectives on global environmental change. Assumptions of stable biogeochemical steady states and linear responses to perturbation are widely employed in the interpretation of geochemical records. Here, we review the dynamics of the marine carbon cycle and its interactions with climate and life over geologic time, focusing on what the record of past changes can teach us about stability and instability in the Earth system. Emerging themes include the role of amplifying feedbacks in producing past carbon cycle disruptions, the importance of critical rates of change in the context of mass extinctions and potential Earth system tipping points, and the application of these ideas to the modern unbalanced carbon cycle. A comprehensive dynamical understanding of the marine record of global environmental disruption will be of great value in understanding the long-term consequences of anthropogenic change.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-marine-010318-095212
