Tectonic–astronomical interactions in shaping late Paleozoic climate and organic carbon burial

Ren Wei, Zhijun Jin (), Mingsong Li, Shuai Yuan, Yongyun Hu, Lin Dong, Rui Zhang and Juye Shi
Additional contact information
Ren Wei: Peking University
Zhijun Jin: Peking University
Mingsong Li: Peking University
Shuai Yuan: Peking University
Yongyun Hu: Peking University
Lin Dong: Peking University
Rui Zhang: China University of Petroleum (Beijing)
Juye Shi: China University of Geosciences (Beijing)

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Tectonic processes and astronomical cycles are key drivers of Earth’s climate and carbon systems. However, their interplay in shaping late Paleozoic climate variability remains poorly constrained. Here, we divide the late Paleozoic (~360–250 Ma) into three distinct tectonic phases based on full-plate tectonic reconstructions, geochemical datasets, and carbon cycle modeling, thereby elucidating how global sea levels and organic carbon burial responded to astronomically forced climate fluctuations under different tectonic phases. Our results show that intervals spanning ~360–330 Ma and ~280–250 Ma were characterized by elevated atmospheric CO2 levels and intensified tectonic activity, which coincided with heightened climate variability and reduced regularity in orbitally paced sea-level changes. In contrast, during ~330–280 Ma, multiple proxies indicate reduced tectonic forcing and lower CO2 concentrations, which were accompanied by more stable climate conditions and clearer expression of astronomical cycles. These conditions facilitated rhythmic deposition and widespread organic carbon burial.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-63896-z Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-63896-z

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-63896-z

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().