Studies show that the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of the planet has reached its peak in the last 14 million years.
For decades, scientists have been warning about the impending climate crisis, in 2023 they declared that the Earth had passed from the “era of global warming” to the “era of global boiling”, and then they were completely shocked – even the red color itself is not enough to indicate heat on the temperature scale, writes SciTechDaily .
One of the main causes of the climate crisis is the emission of greenhouse gases caused by human activity: currently the concentration of CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere has reached 419 parts per million (ppm), but what place does this mark occupy in the history of our planet?
To answer this question, scientists, with the participation of geologists from the University of Utah, turned to the planet’s biological clock. During the research, they studied many markers in the geological records, which provide the key to unraveling the content of ancient atmospheres. According to the co-author of the study, Professor of Geology Gabe Bowen, scientists were able to “rewind the Earth’s biological clock” to the Cenozoic era (about 66 million years ago) – the era that began with the extinction of the dinosaurs and the appearance of mammals.
During the analysis, the scientists turned to glaciers containing air bubbles, which gave scientists direct evidence that carbon dioxide levels were observed around 800,000 years ago. However, this record does not extend too deeply into the history of the planet.
The results of the scientists’ work show that today the level of carbon dioxide concentration in the Earth’s atmosphere was 419 ppm — this is the highest indicator in the last 14 million years. At the same time, the future of the planet looks much gloomier: it is expected that by the end of the century, the concentration of CO2 will reach 600-1000 parts per million.
The authors of the study note that the concentration of carbon dioxide in the future will depend on the level of emissions, if humanity does not manage to reduce them – the indicators will be as high as possible. In addition, the authors of the study note that they do not know how high concentrations of carbon dioxide in the planet’s atmosphere can affect the future of the Earth’s climate system.