Osmium isotope evidence for the regulation of atmospheric CO2

by continental weathering
Anthony S. Cohen* 
Angela L. Coe  Department of Earth Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK
Stephen M. Harding 
Lorenz Schwark Geologisches Institut, Universität zu Köln, Zülpicher Strasse 49a, D-50674 Köln, Germany

ABSTRACT sedimentary facies, stratigraphic context, and

The long-term stability of Earth’s climate throughout the Phanerozoic stands in paleogeographic position of these exposures
marked contrast to the dramatic fluctuations that have taken place on time scales as all provide evidence that the mudrocks were
short as a few years, reflecting the high efficiency of longer-term climate regulation deposited under open-marine conditions (Hes-
through negative feedbacks. A fundamental mechanism is thought to involve control of selbo and Jenkyns, 1995; Howarth, 1962,
CO2 in the ocean-atmosphere system through continental weathering, although un- 1992).
ambiguous, high-resolution data supporting this hypothesis have hitherto not been avail- Our new Re and Os abundance data, and C
able. Organic-rich mudrocks from Yorkshire, England, which were deposited during the isotope results, are shown in Figure 1 and re-
Toarcian oceanic anoxic event (ca. 181 Ma, Early Jurassic), contain evidence of an excep- ported in Tables DR1 and DR21. Suites of
tionally large excursion in the 187Os/188Os ratio of contemporaneous seawater, from ;0.4 mudrock samples from the exaratum and fal-
to ;1.0. The most likely explanation for this excursion is that it resulted from a transient ciferum Subzones define Re-Os isochron ages
increase in global continental weathering rates of ;400%–800%. The Os isotope excursion of 181 6 13 Ma (Cohen et al., 1999) and 178
coincided with a well-documented global d13C excursion of 26‰ that affected all the 6 5 Ma (this study, Fig. 2), respectively, thus
major biospheric reservoirs of the time. Higher mean global temperatures caused global confirming that the Re-Os isotope system in
chemical weathering rates to increase substantially, while, in turn, chemical weathering these successions has not been disturbed since
was very effective in reducing the elevated levels of atmospheric CO2 and the high tem- deposition and that the initial Os isotope com-
peratures to preexcursion levels. position is primary (Cohen et al., 1999). There
is a major, transient increase in the calculated
187Os/188Os ratio of seawater from ;0.4 to
Keywords: osmium, weathering, Toarcian, oceanic anoxic event, strontium, methane hydrate.
;1.0 (Fig. 1) that occurred mostly during de-
INTRODUCTION sponse to changes in the balance between the position of the exaratum Subzone. Despite its
Although rapid oscillations in Earth’s cli- major inputs to the oceans—primarily from relative brevity, with an apparent duration of
mate have occurred frequently in the past (Al- continental weathering, the hydrothermal alter- ;100 k.y., the magnitude of the Os isotope
ley et al., 2003), climate-control processes ation of juvenile oceanic crust, and meteoritic excursion exceeded the total variation in the
187Os/188Os ratio of seawater over the past
have operated during the Phanerozoic to keep sources (Cohen et al., 1999; Pegram et al.,
Earth’s climate within the relatively narrow 1992; Peucker-Ehrenbrink and Ravizza, 2000). ;35 m.y. (Pegram et al., 1992).
bounds required for the continuing success of Because the hydrothermal input of unradiogen-
life on the planet. Interaction between CO2 in ic Os to the oceans can be assumed to remain DISCUSSION
the ocean-atmosphere system and the silicates constant over relatively short intervals, rapid The magnitude of the Os isotope excursion
in the continental crust is thought to be a fun- and transient increases in the seawater 187Os/ reported here would have demanded an in-
damental mechanism in the regulation of 188Os ratio can be caused only by a sudden crease of ;800% in the continental weather-
Earth’s climate, involving the release of Ca increase in the flux or isotopic composition of ing flux, if present-day isotopic ratios for the
and Mg by chemical weathering and, ulti- radiogenic Os from continental weathering. end-member components are used (Peucker-
mately, the deposition of (Ca,Mg)CO3 in the Ehrenbrink and Ravizza, 2000). This excur-
oceans (Berner et al., 1983; Broecker and San- SAMPLES AND RESULTS sion could, in theory, have involved a very
yal, 1998; Kump et al., 2000; Walker et al., The samples that we selected for study are abrupt and transient increase in the 187Os/
Toarcian organic-rich mudrocks from expo- 188Os ratio of the global continental weather-
1981). However, one of the major obstacles in
demonstrating the precise role of chemical sures at Saltwick Bay, Port Mulgrave, and ing component, rather than in its flux. How-
weathering as a regulator of climate has been Hawsker Bottoms, Yorkshire, England (Hes- ever, we consider such an eventuality to be
the difficulty in finding a distinctive chemical selbo and Jenkyns, 1995; Howarth, 1962, very remote because large-scale changes in
proxy that responds with sufficient rapidity 1992). The widespread deposition of marine the worldwide balance of rocks that are avail-
and magnitude to changes in global weather- organic-rich mudrocks across the exaratum able for weathering at Earth’s surface require
ing. The relatively short seawater resi- Biosubzone of the lower falciferum Biozone the action of long-term (millions of years) tec-
dence time for Os of ;10–40 k.y. (Peucker- (Toarcian, Early Jurassic, ca. 183–178 Ma [Palfy tonic processes. Such processes could not
Ehrenbrink and Ravizza, 2000) makes it an et al., 2000]), with as much as 15% organic have operated on the much shorter (thousands
ideal isotopic tracer for the purpose, as long carbon, is a primary feature of the Toarcian
as the recovered signal is primary and global oceanic anoxic event (Jenkyns, 1988; Jenkyns 1GSA Data Repository item 2004019, Tables

in extent. Our approach is based on the ob-
servation that the Os isotope composition of
seawater has varied over geologic time in re-
*E-mail: a.s.cohen@open.ac.uk.
et al., 2002). Although the duration of the ex-
aratum Subzone is not accurately constrained,
it is estimated from annual sediment-layer
couplets to have been ;150 k.y. (Cope, 1998;
Hesselbo et al., 2000). The rich marine fauna,
DR1 and DR2 (sample locations, stratigraphic po-
sitions, Re and Os abundances, Os isotope and d13C
data), is available online at www.geosociety.org/
pubs/ft2004.htm, or on request from editing@
geosociety.org or Documents Secretary, GSA, P.O.
Box 9140, Boulder, CO 80301-9140, USA.

q 2004 Geological Society of America. For permission to copy, contact Copyright Permissions, GSA, or editing@geosociety.org.
Geology; February 2004; v. 32; no. 2; p. 157–160; DOI 10.1130/G20158.1; 3 figures; Data Repository item 2004019. 157
 Figure 1. Os, C, and Sr isotope variations in seawater for part of Toarcian (Lower Jurassic); plots display large, concurrent
changes in seawater 187Os/188Os ratios (Table DR1; see footnote 1), d13C values for bulk organic matter (this study, Table
DR2; see footnote 1; VPDB is Vienna Peedee belemnite), and seawater 87Sr/86Sr ratios (McArthur et al., 2000) that took place
during deposition of exaratum Subzone; gray band across isotope curves indicates exaratum Subzone. Sample positions
relate to composite stratigraphic section from three localities in Yorkshire, England, shown here as summary graphic log
(for details see Table DR1; see footnote 1). Lithostratigraphy and biostratigraphy are from Hesselbo and Jenkyns (1995) and
Howarth (1962, 1992). P. 5 Protogrammoceras, D. 5 Dactylioceras, cl. 5 clevelandicum, ten. 5 tenuicostatum. Lithologies
include dark gray mudrocks (dark gray tone), medium gray mudrocks (gray tone), and carbonate bands and nodules (white).
Early Jurassic seawater Os isotope compositions were calculated from present-day Re and Os abundances and Os isotope
compositions of mudrock samples by assuming closed-system behavior (as indicated by isochron relationships, this study,
and Cohen et al. [1999]) and using depositional ages indicated by isochrons (Table DR1; see footnote 1).

Figure 2. Re-Os isochron diagram for all six
mudrock samples from falciferum Subzone.
Regression age is 178.2 6 5.6 Ma (mean
square of weighted deviates 5 3.0). Initial
187
Os/188Os ratio (0.4 6 0.15) reflects that of
contemporaneous seawater (Cohen et al.,
1999; Peucker-Ehrenbrink and Ravizza,
2000).
of years) time scale over which the global sea-
water Os isotope excursion in the exaratum
Subzone was established. Nevertheless, if we
consider an extreme event in which the 187Os/
188Os ratio of the global weathering flux sud-
denly increased by ;50% to 2 (compared
with its present-day value of 1.4), then the ob-
served Os isotope shift would have still re-
quired an additional increase in weathering
flux of 400%. Thus, the magnitude of the tran-
sient excursion in the Os isotope composition
of seawater during deposition of the exaratum
Subzone was so large that it would have in-
volved a relatively brief interval of greatly en-
hanced continental weathering, on a global
scale, for any realistic Os isotope composition
of the weathering flux.
The Os isotope excursion coincided with a
global d13C shift of 26‰ (Fig. 1) that was
one of the largest of the Phanerozoic, affecting
all the major biospheric carbon reservoirs at
that time, i.e., bulk marine organic matter
(Hesselbo et al., 2000; Kuspert, 1982; Schou-
ten et al., 2000), primary organic production
biomarkers (Schouten et al., 2000), marine
carbonate (Kuspert, 1982; Schouten et al.,
2000), and terrestrial carbon (Hesselbo et al.,
2000). Hesselbo et al. (2000) demonstrated
that the only geologic process consistent with
a global C isotope excursion of this magnitude
would have been the dissociation of very large
amounts of methane hydrate, an immediate
consequence of which would have been its
rapid oxidation to CO2 and a threefold in-
crease in atmospheric CO2 levels (Beerling et
al., 2002). A crucial point is that the precise
interval over which the levels of atmospheric
CO2 were high is clearly defined by the highly
distinctive light C isotope composition im-
parted by the dissociated and oxidized meth-

158 GEOLOGY, February 2004


Figure 3. Variations in Jurassic seawater
87
Sr/86Sr ratio. A: High-resolution profile for
upper Pliensbachian–lower Toarcian (Mc-
Arthur et al., 2000), showing variations with
stratigraphic height. B: Variations in 87Sr/
86
Sr ratio of Jurassic seawater, based on in-
tegrated data set (Jones et al., 1994a,
1994b). Bold arrow indicates approximate
duration of eruption of Karoo-Ferrar igneous
province (Duncan et al., 1997).
ane hydrate (Fig. 1). The concurrent Os and
C isotope excursions in the Toarcian also co-
incide with an exceptionally sharp increase in
the seawater Sr isotope composition (Figs. 1
and 3) (Jones et al., 1994b; McArthur et al.,
2000). Because these synchronous C and Sr
isotope shifts were demonstrably global in ex-
tent (Hesselbo et al., 2000; Jenkyns et al.,
2002; Jones et al., 1994b), they provide ad-
ditional compelling evidence that the seawater
Os isotope excursion, which occurred over the
same short interval, also represented a global
signal.
One of the main factors governing rates of
chemical weathering is temperature (Kump et
al., 2000). Beerling et al. (2002) calculated
that the global d13C isotope excursion of
26‰ in the Toarcian would have required the
dissociation of ;5000 Gt of methane hydrate
and that average global temperatures would
have increased by at least 3 8C as a conse-
quence of the threefold increase in atmospher-
ic CO2. Direct evidence for a sudden, large
increase in seawater temperatures at that time
also comes from O isotope analyses (Jenkyns
GEOLOGY, February 2004
et al., 2002; McArthur et al., 2000) and Mg/
Ca ratios (McArthur et al., 2000) from bel-
emnites, some of which were used to define
the contemporaneous seawater Sr isotope
curve. The d18O values suddenly decreased by
;3‰ at the same point that marked the start
of the Os and C isotope excursions, while Mg/
Ca ratios approximately doubled, from 0.2 to
0.4. Both data sets independently suggest that
average seawater surface temperatures during
deposition of the exaratum Subzone were as
much as 10 8C higher than those before and
after (Jenkyns et al., 2002; McArthur et al.,
2000).
Although the precise relationship between
continental weathering rates and mean global
temperature in the Toarcian would have de-
pended on the highly complex interplay be-
tween vegetation and hydrology as well as on
atmospheric CO2, the 400%–800% increase in
weathering rates in the exaratum Subzone of
the Toarcian is nevertheless fully consistent
with estimates of the temperature dependence
of current chemical weathering rates (Gaillar-
det et al., 1999; Kump et al., 2000). An anal-
ysis of the dissolved loads carried by the
world’s rivers shows that a 500% increase in
weathering rate occurs for every 5 8C rise in
temperature where weathering rate is not con-
trolled by water supply (Gaillardet et al.,
1999). The sudden and large increase in con-
tinental weathering rates in the greenhouse
world of the Toarcian is commensurate with
highly efficient hydrologic and weathering
systems where groundwater flow predominat-
ed, as was the case in the Late Cretaceous
when groundwater flow exceeded runoff by a
factor of six (Floegel et al., 2003). For com-
parison, during the present-day icehouse con-
ditions, global runoff exceeds groundwater
flow by a factor of three.
The transient increase in continental weath-
ering rates in the exaratum Subzone resulted
in an increased flux of Ca and Mg to the
oceans, which would have served to balance
the higher levels of CO2 in the oceans and
atmosphere. The approximate time scale of the
C (and Os) isotope excursions may be esti-
mated from global sedimentation and CO2
consumption rates; this calculation also pro-
vides an independent check of the feasibility
of enhanced continental weathering having
acted as the negative feedback that regulated
atmospheric CO2. Sediment supply to the
oceans was relatively low in the Early Jurassic
and, outside the exaratum Subzone, may have
been as little as 12%–20% of its current level
(Floegel et al., 2000). Present-day chemical
weathering of Ca- and Mg-bearing silicates
consumes 0.085 Gt of C annually (Gaillardet
et al., 1999); thus, depending on the exact
choice of values, the excess CO2 derived from
the oxidation of methane hydrate during the
exaratum Subzone would have been con-
sumed in ;37–123 k.y. This result is fully
consistent with the other estimates for the du-
ration of the Os and C isotope excursions.
The dramatic rise in the 87Sr/86Sr ratio of
seawater during deposition of the exaratum
Subzone represented one of the fastest rates of
increase of the Phanerozoic. It was superim-
posed on a longer-term increase (Fig. 3) that
extended from the late Pliensbachian to the
early Bajocian. The singular change in slope
of the seawater Sr isotope curve in the late
Pliensbachian coincided with the main erup-
tive phase of the Karoo-Ferrar igneous prov-
ince at 183 6 1 Ma, according to the dates of
Duncan et al. (1997). Under the assumption
that the contribution of unradiogenic Sr from
seafloor spreading remained essentially con-
stant over this interval (Rowley, 2002), we
suggest that the eruption of the Karoo-Ferrar
igneous province caused both the initial rise
in seawater 87Sr/86Sr ratio in the late Pliens-
bachian and its longer-term increase. This oc-
curred through volcanic CO2 outgassing,
which led in turn to higher mean global tem-
peratures and enhanced continental weather-
ing. We further suggest that the transient and
exceptionally high rate of increase in seawater
87Sr/86Sr ratio during deposition of the exar-
atum Subzone was caused by the acceleration
of weathering rates resulting from higher at-
mospheric CO2 and mean global temperatures
following methane hydrate destabilization
(Beerling et al., 2002; Hesselbo et al., 2000).
After the deposition of the exaratum Subzone,
the seawater Os isotope composition and the
rate of increase of the seawater 87Sr/86Sr ratio
returned rapidly to levels similar to those be-
fore the methane hydrate destabilization, in-
dicating a relaxation in continental weathering
rates.
An alternative explanation for the steep rise
in the seawater 87Sr/86Sr ratio across the ex-
aratum Subzone, proposed by McArthur et al.
(2000), is that it is an artifact of unusually
slow sedimentation rates in the exaratum Sub-
zone alone. These authors make the explicit
assumption that the rate of increase of sea-
water 87Sr/86Sr ratio in the early Toarcian was
constant. They conclude that the exaratum
Subzone is greatly condensed compared with
the strata above and below, and that it was
deposited over an interval of ;1 m.y. How-
ever, the assumption upon which this approach
is based—that the rate of increase in seawater
87Sr/86Sr ratio was constant—is hard to justify
in view of the dramatic reversal of slope of
the seawater Sr isotope curve in the latest
Pliensbachian, perhaps no more than ;1 m.y.
earlier (Fig. 3).
The transient geochemical and climatic
159
changes that occurred as a result of methane
hydrate destabilization during the Toarcian are
among the largest that have been reported for
the Phanerozoic. Lesser changes of a similar
nature also occurred at the Paleocene-Eocene
boundary (ca. 55 Ma) (Dickens et al., 1995),
when a smaller gas hydrate release was re-
sponsible for a d13C isotope shift of 22.5‰
and an increase in mean global temperature of
;2 8C. Then, an ;26% increase in continental
weathering flux was inferred from an ;10%
increase in the seawater 187Os/188Os ratio
(Ravizza et al., 2001). In the more recent past,
seawater 187Os/188Os ratios for warmer inter-
glacial periods were found to be ;5% higher
than for colder glacial periods (Oxburgh,
1998). Although the implications of these two
studies are in full accord with the results pre-
sented here—that continental weathering rates
increase with higher mean global tempera-
tures—in both these cases the changes in the
seawater Os isotope composition could have
been caused by relatively minor changes in
the Os isotope composition of the continental
component, rather than in its flux.
CONCLUSIONS
The seawater 187Os/188Os ratio suddenly in-
creased from ;0.4 to ;1.0 for a short interval
during deposition of the Toarcian exaratum
Subzone. The magnitude of the Os isotope ex-
cursion indicates an increase in continental
weathering flux of ;400%–800% and was so
great that it rules out the possibility that the
excursion was caused by a change in Os iso-
tope composition of the weathering flux alone.
High levels of CO2 in the oceans and atmo-
sphere, which were the likely consequence of
massive methane hydrate dissociation, led to
elevated mean global temperatures and higher
rates of chemical weathering. Enhanced chem-
ical weathering resulted in higher fluxes of Ca
and Mg to the oceans, which consumed CO2
and thereby caused mean global temperatures
and weathering rates to fall. The large, syn-
chronous changes in the Os, Sr, C, and O iso-
tope ratios of Early Jurassic seawater provide
very strong evidence supporting the hypothe-
sis (Walker et al., 1981) that continental
weathering rates are temperature dependent
and that weathering provides a rapid and ef-
fective negative feedback that can moderate
major climatic perturbations through CO2
consumption.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank K.W. Burton, N.B.W. Harris, N.W.
Rogers, R.A. Spicer, N. Vigier, and three anony-
mous reviewers for comments on an earlier version
of this manuscript, and the Natural Environment Re-
search Council and the Open University for finan-
cial support. We are grateful for journal reviews
160
provided by S.P. Hesselbo and an anonymous
reviewer.
REFERENCES CITED
Alley, R.B., Marotzke, J., Nordhaus, W.D., Over-
peck, J.T., Peteet, D.M., Pielke, R.A., Pierre-
humbert, R.T., Rhines, P.B., Stocker, T.F.,
Talley, L.D., and Wallace, J.M., 2003,
Abrupt climate change: Science, v. 299,
p. 2005–2010.
Beerling, D.J., Lomas, M.R., and Grocke, D.R.,
2002, On the nature of methane gas-hydrate
dissociation during the Toarcian and Aptian
oceanic anoxic events: American Journal of
Science, v. 302, p. 28–49.
Berner, R.A., Lasaga, A.C., and Garrels, R.M.,
1983, The carbonate-silicate geochemical cy-
cle and its effect on atmospheric carbon di-
oxide over the past 100 million years: Amer-
ican Journal of Science, v. 283, p. 641–683.
Broecker, W.S., and Sanyal, A., 1998, Does atmo-
spheric CO2 police the rate of chemical weath-
ering?: Global Biogeochemical Cycles, v. 12,
p. 403–408.
Cohen, A.S., Coe, A.L., Bartlett, J.M., and Hawkes-
worth, C.J., 1999, Precise Re-Os ages of
organic-rich mudrocks and the Os isotope
composition of Jurassic seawater: Earth and
Planetary Science Letters, v. 167, p. 159–173.
Cope, J.C.W., 1998, Discussion on estimates of the
amount and rate of sea-level change across the
Rhaetian-Hettangian and Pliensbachian-
Toarcian boundaries (latest Triassic to Early
Jurassic): Geological Society [London] Jour-
nal, v. 155, p. 421–422.
Dickens, G.R., O’Neil, J.R., Rea, D.K., and Owen,
R.M., 1995, Dissociation of oceanic methane
hydrate as a cause of the carbon isotope ex-
cursion at the end of the Paleocene: Paleo-
ceanography, v. 10, p. 965–972.
Duncan, R.A., Hooper, P.R., Rehacek, J., Marsh,
J.S., and Duncan, A.R., 1997, The timing and
duration of the Karoo igneous event, southern
Gondwana: Journal of Geophysical Research,
v. 102, p. 18,127–18,138.
Floegel, S., Wold, C.N., and Hay, W.W., 2000, Evo-
lution of sediments and ocean salinity: Ab-
stract, International Geological Congress,
31st, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Floegel, S., Hay, W.W., and DeConto, R.M., 2003,
The Late Cretaceous hydrological cycle: Very
different from today: Geophysical Research
Abstracts, v. 5, p. 11,230.
Gaillardet, J., Dupre, B., Louvat, P., and Allègre,
C.J., 1999, Global silicate weathering and CO2
consumption rates deduced from the chemistry
of large rivers: Chemical Geology, v. 159,
p. 3–30.
Hesselbo, S.P., and Jenkyns, H.C., 1995, A com-
parison of the Hettangian to Bajocian succes-
sions of Dorset and Yorkshire, in Taylor, P.D.,
ed., Field geology of the British Jurassic: Lon-
don, Geological Society [London] p. 105–150.
Hesselbo, S.P., Grocke, D.R., Jenkyns, H.C., Bjer-
rum, C.J., Farrimond, P., Bell, H.S.M., and
Green, O.R., 2000, Massive dissociation of
gas hydrate during a Jurassic oceanic anoxic
event: Nature, v. 406, p. 392–395.
Howarth, M.K., 1962, The Jet Rock Series and the
Alum Shale Series of the Yorkshire coast:
Yorkshire Geological Society Proceedings,
v. 33, p. 381–422.
Howarth, M.K., 1992, The ammonite family Hil-
doceratidae in the Lower Jurassic of Britain:
Palaeontological Society [London] Mono-
graph, v. 145, p. 1–200.
Jenkyns, H.C., 1988, The early Toarcian (Jurassic)
anoxic event: Stratigraphic, sedimentary, and
geochemical evidence: American Journal of
Science, v. 288, p. 101–151.
Jenkyns, H.C., Jones, C.E., Grocke, D.R., Hesselbo,
S.P., and Parkinson, D.N., 2002, Chemostra-
tigraphy of the Jurassic System: Applications,
limitations and implications for palaeocean-
ography: Geological Society [London] Jour-
nal, v. 159, p. 351–378.
Jones, C.E., Jenkyns, H.C., Coe, A.L., and Hessel-
bo, S.P., 1994a, Strontium isotopic variations
in Jurassic and Cretaceous seawater: Geo-
chimica et Cosmochimica Acta, v. 58,
p. 3061–3074.
Jones, C.E., Jenkyns, H.C., and Hesselbo, S.P.,
1994b, Strontium isotopes in Early Jurassic
seawater: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta,
v. 58, p. 1285–1301.
Kump, L.R., Brantley, S.L., and Arthur, M.A., 2000,
Chemical, weathering, atmospheric CO2, and
climate: Annual Review of Earth and Plane-
tary Sciences, v. 28, p. 611–667.
Kuspert, W., 1982, Environmental changes during
oil shale deposition as deduced from stable
isotope ratios, in Einsele, G., and Seilacher,
A., eds., Cyclic and event stratification: Berlin,
Springer, p. 482–501.
McArthur, J.M., Donovan, D.T., Thirlwall, M.F.,
Fouke, B.W., and Mattey, D., 2000, Strontium
isotope profile of the early Toarcian (Jurassic)
oceanic anoxic event, the duration of ammo-
nite biozones, and belemnite palaeotempera-
tures: Earth and Planetary Science Letters,
v. 179, p. 269–285.
Oxburgh, R., 1998, Variations in the osmium iso-
tope composition of seawater over the past
200,000 yr: Earth and Planetary Science Let-
ters, v. 159, p. 183–191.
Palfy, J., Smith, P.L., and Mortensen, J.K., 2000, A
U-Pb and 40Ar/39Ar time scale for the Jurassic:
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 37,
p. 923–944.
Pegram, W.J., Krishnaswami, S., Ravizza, G.E., and
Turekian, K.K., 1992, The record of seawater
187Os/186Os variation through the Cenozoic:
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 113,
p. 569–576.
Peucker-Ehrenbrink, B., and Ravizza, G., 2000, The
marine osmium isotope record: Terra Nova,
v. 12, p. 205–219.
Ravizza, G., Norris, R.N., Blusztajn, J., and Aubry,
M.P., 2001, An osmium isotope excursion as-
sociated with the late Paleocene thermal
maximum: Evidence of intensified chemi-
cal weathering: Paleoceanography, v. 16,
p. 155–163.
Rowley, D.B., 2002, Rate of plate creation and de-
struction: 180 Ma to present: Geological So-
ciety of America Bulletin, v. 114, p. 927–933.
Schouten, S., Van Kaam-Peters, H.M.E., Rijpstra,
W.I.C., Schoell, M., and Damste, J.S.S., 2000,
Effects of an oceanic anoxic event on the sta-
ble carbon isotopic composition of early Toar-
cian carbon: American Journal of Science,
v. 300, p. 1–22.
Walker, J.C.G., Hays, P.B., and Kasting, J.F., 1981,
A negative feedback mechanism for the
long-term stabilization of Earth’s surface-
temperature: Journal of Geophysical Research,
v. 86, p. 9776–9782.
Manuscript received 5 September 2003
Revised manuscript received 24 October 2003
Manuscript accepted 27 October 2003
Printed in USA
GEOLOGY, February 2004