A study of droplets of magma trapped within olivine crystals in lavas from the voluminous Deccan Traps volcanic province finds that Deccan magmas that erupted prior to the end-Cretaceous mass extinction were rich in carbon dioxide, but that gas release from magmas that froze underground is also required to account for global warming in the lead-up to the end-Cretaceous mass extinction, according to the authors.
Article #20-07797: "Reconciling early Deccan Traps CO2 outgassing and pre-KPB global climate" by Andres Hernandez Nava et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Benjamin A. Black, City University of New York, NY; email: bblack@ccny.cuny.edu
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences