{
    "title": "International team of researchers unveil key drivers behind natural CO\u2082 jumps on centennial scales",
    "modified_at": "2024-10-11 11:00:03",
    "published_at": "2024-10-11 11:00:00",
    "url": "https://press.vub.ac.be/international-team-of-researchers-unveil-key-drivers-behind-natural-co-jumps-on-centennial-scales",
    "short_url": "http://prez.ly/mLUc",
    "culture": "en",
    "language": "EN",
    "slug": "international-team-of-researchers-unveil-key-drivers-behind-natural-co-jumps-on-centennial-scales",
    "body": "<p>A new study published in Nature Geoscience by an international team of scientists provides new insights into the natural mechanisms behind century-scale increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO\u2082), known as CO\u2082 jumps. The study, led by Etienne Legrain, paleoclimatologist at the Department of Water and Climate at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, the Glaciology Laboratory of the Universit&eacute; Libre de Bruxelles and the Environmental Geosciences Institute of Universit&eacute; Grenoble-Alpes provides findings based on high-resolution measurements from Antarctic ice cores. The results reveal the significant role that Earth&#039;s orbital conditions play in triggering rapid CO\u2082 increases, particularly during periods of high obliquity. The research offers critical context for understanding natural CO\u2082 variability and its interaction with human-induced climate change.</p>\n    <figure\n        class=\"release-content-image release-content-image--contained release-content-image--align-center\"\n        data-component=\"image-zoom-popup\"\n        data-image-zoom-popup-selector=\".release-content-image__image\"\n        data-image-zoom-popup-i18n=\"data:application/json;base64,eyJEb3dubG9hZCI6IkRvd25sb2FkIn0=\"\n        data-image-zoom-popup-tracking-views-event=\"Story Image View\"\n        data-image-zoom-popup-tracking-download-event=\"Story Image Download\"\n        data-image-zoom-popup-placement=\"content\"\n    >\n        <div class=\"image-thumbnail-rollover\" style=\"width: 100%\">\n            <img\n                src=\"https://cdn.uc.assets.prezly.com/81418fe7-de45-4c8d-b06d-41790a9bad67/-/format/auto/\"\n                                class=\"release-content-image__image image-thumbnail-rollover__image\"\n                data-description=\"Scientist sampling ice from an Antarctic ice core. &amp;copy; Etienne Legrain\"\n                id=\"image-81418fe7-de45-4c8d-b06d-41790a9bad67\"\n                data-id=\"81418fe7-de45-4c8d-b06d-41790a9bad67\"\n                data-original=\"https://cdn.uc.assets.prezly.com/81418fe7-de45-4c8d-b06d-41790a9bad67/-/inline/no/Image2.jpg\"\n                data-mfp-src=\"https://cdn.uc.assets.prezly.com/81418fe7-de45-4c8d-b06d-41790a9bad67/-/format/auto/\"\n                alt=\"Scientist sampling ice from an Antarctic ice core. \u00a9 Etienne Legrain\"\n            />\n            <div class=\"image-thumbnail-rollover__caption\">\n                <svg class=\"icon icon-expand image-thumbnail-rollover__caption-icon\">\n                <use xlink:href=\"#icon-expand\"></use>\n            </svg>            </div>\n        </div>\n\n        <figcaption class=\"release-content-image__caption\">Scientist sampling ice from an Antarctic ice core. &copy; Etienne Legrain</figcaption>\n    </figure>\n\n    <figure\n        class=\"release-content-image release-content-image--contained release-content-image--align-center\"\n        data-component=\"image-zoom-popup\"\n        data-image-zoom-popup-selector=\".release-content-image__image\"\n        data-image-zoom-popup-i18n=\"data:application/json;base64,eyJEb3dubG9hZCI6IkRvd25sb2FkIn0=\"\n        data-image-zoom-popup-tracking-views-event=\"Story Image View\"\n        data-image-zoom-popup-tracking-download-event=\"Story Image Download\"\n        data-image-zoom-popup-placement=\"content\"\n    >\n        <div class=\"image-thumbnail-rollover\" style=\"width: 100%\">\n            <img\n                src=\"https://cdn.uc.assets.prezly.com/b4aca9a9-18c3-4eb7-b660-566ebe2f4dc8/-/resize/1200x/-/format/auto/\"\n                                class=\"release-content-image__image image-thumbnail-rollover__image\"\n                data-description=\"Sample of ice mounted on a glass slide for further analysis. &amp;copy; Etienne Legrain.\"\n                id=\"image-b4aca9a9-18c3-4eb7-b660-566ebe2f4dc8\"\n                data-id=\"b4aca9a9-18c3-4eb7-b660-566ebe2f4dc8\"\n                data-original=\"https://cdn.uc.assets.prezly.com/b4aca9a9-18c3-4eb7-b660-566ebe2f4dc8/-/inline/no/Image1.jpg\"\n                data-mfp-src=\"https://cdn.uc.assets.prezly.com/b4aca9a9-18c3-4eb7-b660-566ebe2f4dc8/-/resize/1200x/-/format/auto/\"\n                alt=\"Sample of ice mounted on a glass slide for further analysis. \u00a9 Etienne Legrain.\"\n            />\n            <div class=\"image-thumbnail-rollover__caption\">\n                <svg class=\"icon icon-expand image-thumbnail-rollover__caption-icon\">\n                <use xlink:href=\"#icon-expand\"></use>\n            </svg>            </div>\n        </div>\n\n        <figcaption class=\"release-content-image__caption\">Sample of ice mounted on a glass slide for further analysis. &copy; Etienne Legrain.</figcaption>\n    </figure>\n<blockquote>&quot;We discovered seven CO\u2082 jumps that happened between 260,000 and 190,000 years ago. 22 of these jumps have now been identified for the last 500,000 years. The analyses show that 18 of these CO\u2082 jumps happened when Earth&rsquo;s axis was tilted more than usual. The tilt changes naturally over time periods of about 41,000 years, and it affects how sunlight hits Earth. This impacts how much CO\u2082 is released from places like oceans and continental vegetation. Our study shows that when major oceanic currents, like the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), slow down, it can cause more CO\u2082 to be released from the ocean and land, especially when Earth&rsquo;s tilt is high, causing these jumps.&quot; Etienne Legrain says.</blockquote><blockquote>&quot;While these natural CO\u2082 jumps are important, they are much smaller than the amount of CO\u2082 humans are adding to the atmosphere today. Natural jumps increased CO\u2082 by about 10 parts per million (ppm) per century, while human activities are raising it by more 100 ppm per century in half of a century &mdash;20 times more. Nevertheless, if the AMOC weakens in the future, as some scientists think could happen due to anthropogenic-induced climate change, another CO\u2082 jump might occurs. It would release the equivalent of 4 years of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions over a period of a century. This would be added to the CO\u2082 humans are already putting in the atmosphere, increasing the global greenhouse effect.&quot; Legrain concludes.</blockquote><p>The authors affirm that we need to learn more about how these natural processes and human-caused climate changes interact and what it may imply for future climate evolution.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Reference:</strong></p><p>Legrain, E., et al. &quot;Centennial-scale increases of atmospheric carbon dioxide linked to obliquity-driven climate changes,&quot; *Nature Climate Change*, [DOI: 10.1038/sXXXX].</p><hr /><p><strong>Contact:</strong></p><p>Etienne Legrain:</p><p>Email: etienne.legrain@vub.be \u200b </p><p>Phone: +33767883755 </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>This work is the result of a thesis conducted at the Environmental Geosciences Institute in Grenoble at the Universit&eacute; Grenoble Alpes, which was completed as part of a postdoctoral fellowship jointly carried out at the Glaciology Laboratory of the Universit&eacute; Libre de Bruxelles and the Department of Water and Climate at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.</p><div class=\"release-content-contact\" id=\"contact-b82ec94c-a186-4cc5-a0c1-64eb225f4c5e\">\n    <div class=\"release-content-contact__avatar\"><img src=\"https://cdn.uc.assets.prezly.com/96e3692f-39a4-433b-b0ee-9008befa578f/-/crop/1117x1118/419,0/-/preview/-/scale_crop/128x128/center/-/format/auto/\" alt=\"Koen Stein\" class=\"release-content-contact__avatar-image\" /></div>\n    <div class=\"release-content-contact__details\">\n        <strong class=\"release-content-contact__name\">Koen Stein</strong>\n        <em class=\"release-content-contact__description\">Perscontact wetenschap &amp; onderzoek</em>\n        <ul class=\"release-content-contact__details-list\"><li class=\"release-content-contact__details-list-item\"><a href=\"mailto:koen.stein@vub.be\"  class=\"release-content-contact__details-list-item-link\" title=\"koen.stein@vub.be\"><svg class=\"icon icon-paper-plane release-content-contact__details-list-item-icon\">\n                <use xlink:href=\"#icon-paper-plane\"></use>\n            </svg>koen.stein@vub.be</a></li>\n<li class=\"release-content-contact__details-list-item\"><a href=\"tel:+32 (0)471517909\"  class=\"release-content-contact__details-list-item-link\" title=\"+32 (0)471517909\"><svg class=\"icon icon-mobile release-content-contact__details-list-item-icon\">\n                <use xlink:href=\"#icon-mobile\"></use>\n            </svg>+32 (0)471517909</a></li>\n<li class=\"release-content-contact__details-list-item\"><a href=\"https://vub.be\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"release-content-contact__details-list-item-link\" title=\"vub.be\"><svg class=\"icon icon-browser release-content-contact__details-list-item-icon\">\n                <use xlink:href=\"#icon-browser\"></use>\n            </svg>vub.be</a></li></ul>\n    </div>\n</div><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>",
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