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UP: Fachverband Umweltphysik
UP 2: Climate, Climate modelling & Energy
UP 2.4: Hauptvortrag
Dienstag, 17. März 2020, 11:30–12:00, HSZ 105
Earth-system model simulations of the effect of the asteroid impact 66 million years ago — •Georg Feulner1, Julia Brugger1,2, Matthias Hofmann1, and Stefan Petri1 — 1Potsdam-Institut für Klimafolgenforschung (PIK), Potsdam, Germany — 2Institut für Physik und Astronomie, Universität Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
Numerical models of Earth’s climate system have become essential tools in modern climate science. They provide a glimpse into our future in a warming world, but they also allow us to explore the past and thus to investigate Earth-system dynamics and stability under a range of different boundary conditions. After an overview of palaeoclimate work in my group, I will present recent results on one of the most dramatic events, the asteroid impact 66 million years ago which has been linked to the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event, and particularly to the demise of the (non-avian) dinosaurs. Specifically, we study the climate effects of sulfate aerosols and carbon dioxide formed during the impact using a coupled ocean-atmosphere model and the biogeochemical effect of sulfur, carbon, iron and phosphate from the impact using a marine biogeochemistry model. We find a strong decrease of annual global surface air temperatures by at least 26∘C, returning to pre-impact temperatures after about 100 years. The cooling induces vigorous ocean mixing that leads to changes in oxygen distributions and nutrient availability. Importantly, we find a significant increase in primary productivity once the light returns after the impact.