Response of Earth system to extreme palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental changes: A multiproxy study of the aftermath of the Toarcian hyperthermal

Climate change is currently one of the major challenges for our society.

Observations from past time intervals marked by climatic and environmental instabilities are crucial to predict the consequences of current global warming and the feedback mechanisms that would allow the biosphere to return to steady-state conditions.

The Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE, Early Jurassic) was one of the most extreme hyperthermal events in Earth history.

It is well constrained that volcanic activity triggered the cascade of environmental feedbacks associated to this event, whereas the evolution in the middle–late Toarcian and the recovery phase are still poorly understood.

With RECOVERY, I will fill this gap by giving a holistic appraisal of the palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental evolution in the aftermath of the T-OAE and of the feedback mechanisms, which helped the biosphere to recover.

RECOVERY will follow a multi-proxy approach combining sedimentological observations, and mineralogical and geochemical analysis to (i) provide a high-resolution carbon isotope stratigraphy and trace carbon cycle dynamics, (ii) reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental conditions and constrain the climate-carbon cycle feedback mechanisms, (iii) evaluate changes in nutrient level and primary productivity, (iv) track the causality link between volcanic activity and environmental changes, (v) constrain continental weathering rates and evaluate the potential impact on global climate.

The originality and innovative aspects of RECOVERY builds at the intersection of advanced analytical tools and theoretical concepts to provide an unprecedented comprehensive understanding of the feedback mechanisms implied in Earth system recovery after extreme palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental changes, taking the aftermath of the T-OAE as a case study.

RECOVERY will hence provide a crucial backdrop to glimpse our future and the response of Earth system to current climate change.