CARBON ISOTOPE EVIDENCE IMPLYING HIGH O2/CO2 RATIOS IN THE PERMO-CARBONIFEROUS ATMOSPHERE

Abstract

Theoretical models predict a marked increase in atmospheric O2 to ~35% during the Permo-Carboniferous (~300 Ma) occurring against a low (~0.03%) CO2 level. An upper O2 value of 35%, however, remains disputed because ignition data indicate that excessive global forest fires would have ensued. This uncertainty limits interpretation of the role played by atmospheric oxygen in Late Paleozoic biotic evolution. Here, we describe new results from laboratory experiments with vascular land plants that establish that a rise in O2 to 35% increases isotopic fractionation (Δ13C) during growth relative to control plants grown at 21% O2. Despite some effect of the background atmospheric CO2 level on the magnitude of the increase, we hypothesize that a substantial Permo-Carboniferous rise in O2 could have imprinted a detectable geochemical signature in the plant fossil record. Over 50 carbon isotope measurements on intact carbon from four fossil plant clades with differing physiological ecologies and ranging in age from Devonian to Cretaceous reveal a substantial Δ13C anomaly (5%%) occurring between 300 and 250 Ma. The timing and direction of the Δ13C excursion is consistent with the effects of a high O2 atmosphere on plants, as predicted from photosynthetic theory and observed in our experiments. Preliminary calibration of the fossil Δ13C record against experimental data yields a predicted O2/CO2 mixing ratio of the ancient atmosphere consistent with that calculated from long-term models of the global carbon and oxygen cycles. We conclude that further work on the effects of O2 in the combustion of plant materials and the spread of wildfire is necessary before existing data can be used to reliably set the upper limit for paleo-O2 levels.