Did cooling oceans trigger Ordovician biodiversification? Evidence from conodont thermometry

Julie A. Trotter; Ian S. Williams; Christopher R. Barnes; Christophe Lécuyer; Robert S. Nicoll

doi:10.1126/science.1155814

Did cooling oceans trigger Ordovician biodiversification? Evidence from conodont thermometry

Julie A. Trotter, Ian S. Williams, Christopher R. Barnes, Christophe Lécuyer, Robert S. Nicoll

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

563 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The Ordovician Period, long considered a supergreenhouse state, saw one of the greatest radiations of life in Earth's history. Previous temperature estimates of up to ∼70°C have spawned controversial speculation that the oxygen isotopic composition of seawater must have evolved over geological time. We present a very different global climate record determined by ion microprobe oxygen isotope analyses of Early Ordovician-Silurian conodonts. This record shows a steady cooling trend through the Early Ordovician reaching modern equatorial temperatures that were sustained throughout the Middle and Late Ordovician. This favorable climate regime implies not only that the oxygen isotopic composition of Ordovician seawater was similar to that of today, but also that climate played an overarching role in promoting the unprecedented increases in biodiversity that characterized this period.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	550-554
Number of pages	5
Journal	Science
Volume	321
Issue number	5888
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1155814
Publication status	Published - 25 Jul 2008

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abstract = "The Ordovician Period, long considered a supergreenhouse state, saw one of the greatest radiations of life in Earth's history. Previous temperature estimates of up to ∼70°C have spawned controversial speculation that the oxygen isotopic composition of seawater must have evolved over geological time. We present a very different global climate record determined by ion microprobe oxygen isotope analyses of Early Ordovician-Silurian conodonts. This record shows a steady cooling trend through the Early Ordovician reaching modern equatorial temperatures that were sustained throughout the Middle and Late Ordovician. This favorable climate regime implies not only that the oxygen isotopic composition of Ordovician seawater was similar to that of today, but also that climate played an overarching role in promoting the unprecedented increases in biodiversity that characterized this period.",

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AU - Nicoll, Robert S.

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Did cooling oceans trigger Ordovician biodiversification? Evidence from conodont thermometry

Abstract

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