The last 2.6 million years are characterized by glacial cycles, a regular alternation of cold and warm periods. It is widely accepted that changes in the concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere were largely responsible for these natural fluctuations of cold and warm periods. What exactly triggers the increase in carbon dioxide concentrations that causes the transition from a glacial stage to a warm stage is not fully understood. Together with colleagues, Dr. Martin Kölling from the MARUM—Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen, has developed a new model in which the weathering of pyrite, a common mineral containing sulfur, plays a key role. The results were published in the journal Nature Geoscience.
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Source: Phys.org