Layers in drill cores

Nelissen: ‘We could see that within a maximum of three hundred years from the start of the explosive increase in CO2, the conifer-dominated vegetation disappeared at the studied site and many ferns appeared. The ecosystems on land were disrupted for thousands of years; an increase in charcoal indicates that there were more forest fires. An increase in clay minerals in the sea sediment also indicates that entire sections of land washed into the sea due to erosion.’ Thanks to the exceptionally well-defined layers in the sediment – even per season! – researchers were able to demonstrate for the first time how quickly trees and plants respond to disruption.

More was already known about the major impact on the sea, says Nelissen. ‘In drill cores from the deep sea, for example, we see that there is suddenly no more calcium carbonate, because the seawater rapidly acidified due to all the CO2 it absorbed. This made the water too acidic for organisms to form calcium carbonate skeletons or shells.’

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