Isotopic constraints on the marine environment and biogeochemical cycles during major periods of animal evolution and extinction
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- The evolution of life is intricately linked to the evolution of Earth's geochemical cycles. In particular, the connections between ancient life and the biogeochemical cycles of carbon and oxygen have been intensively scrutinized because these elements are fundamental components of organic matter, determine the pathways through which organisms can obtain energy, and are critical for defining habitability. Despite this attention, significant questions remain about how the evolution of life is intertwined with environmental conditions. To this end, I analyze uranium (U) and calcium (Ca) isotopes in carbonate rocks and reconstruct two major processes that control carbon and oxygen in the ocean-atmosphere system: the degree of ocean oxygenation and variations in carbonate chemistry. These isotopic records can also constrain the carbon isotope record, the predominant tool for understanding the past carbon cycle. Here, I focus on fluctuations in marine environmental conditions during two critical time intervals in the history of animals in order to understand the primary factors governing marine biogeochemical cycles: the Cryogenian non-glacial interval (660 to 640 Ma) and the recovery from the end-Permian mass extinction (252 to 235 Ma). Combined, these studies employ non-traditional isotopic approaches to investigate how global patterns of environmental change, evolution, and extinction are related. Indeed, the results described herein emphasize that critical events in the history of animals are accompanied by dramatic variations in biogeochemical cycles and environmental conditions.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2016 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Lau, Kimberly V |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Geological Sciences. |
| Primary advisor | Maher, Katharine |
| Primary advisor | Payne, Jonathan L |
| Thesis advisor | Maher, Katharine |
| Thesis advisor | Payne, Jonathan L |
| Thesis advisor | Sperling, Erik |
| Advisor | Sperling, Erik |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Kimberly V. Lau. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Geological Sciences. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2016. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2016 by Kimberly Vanessa Lau
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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