Were sauropod dinosaurs responsible for the warm Mesozoic climate?
It was recently postulated that methane production by the giant Mesozoic sauropod dinosaurs was larger than the present-day release of this greenhouse gas by nature and man-induced activities jointly, thus contributing to the warm Mesozoic climate. This conclusion was reached by correct calculations...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2012-10-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Palaeogeography |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095383615301218 |
| _version_ | 1828143480855068672 |
|---|---|
| author | A.J. (Tom) van Loon |
| author_facet | A.J. (Tom) van Loon |
| author_sort | A.J. (Tom) van Loon |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | It was recently postulated that methane production by the giant Mesozoic sauropod dinosaurs was larger than the present-day release of this greenhouse gas by nature and man-induced activities jointly, thus contributing to the warm Mesozoic climate. This conclusion was reached by correct calculations, but these calculations were based on unrealistic assumptions: the researchers who postulated this dinosaur-induced warm climate did take into account neither the biomass production required for the sauropods' food, nor the constraints for the habitats in which the dinosaurs lived, thus neglecting the palaeogeographic conditions. This underlines the importance of palaeogeography for a good understanding of the Earth's geological history. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T19:57:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4e144073a3f74312a8b183027b3cca9c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2095-3836 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T19:57:57Z |
| publishDate | 2012-10-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Palaeogeography |
| spelling | doaj.art-4e144073a3f74312a8b183027b3cca9c2022-12-22T04:05:50ZengElsevierJournal of Palaeogeography2095-38362012-10-011213814810.3724/SP.J.1261.2012.00011Were sauropod dinosaurs responsible for the warm Mesozoic climate?A.J. (Tom) van LoonIt was recently postulated that methane production by the giant Mesozoic sauropod dinosaurs was larger than the present-day release of this greenhouse gas by nature and man-induced activities jointly, thus contributing to the warm Mesozoic climate. This conclusion was reached by correct calculations, but these calculations were based on unrealistic assumptions: the researchers who postulated this dinosaur-induced warm climate did take into account neither the biomass production required for the sauropods' food, nor the constraints for the habitats in which the dinosaurs lived, thus neglecting the palaeogeographic conditions. This underlines the importance of palaeogeography for a good understanding of the Earth's geological history.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095383615301218sauropod dinosaursgreenhouse conditionsmethanepalaeogeography |
| spellingShingle | A.J. (Tom) van Loon Were sauropod dinosaurs responsible for the warm Mesozoic climate? Journal of Palaeogeography sauropod dinosaurs greenhouse conditions methane palaeogeography |
| title | Were sauropod dinosaurs responsible for the warm Mesozoic climate? |
| title_full | Were sauropod dinosaurs responsible for the warm Mesozoic climate? |
| title_fullStr | Were sauropod dinosaurs responsible for the warm Mesozoic climate? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Were sauropod dinosaurs responsible for the warm Mesozoic climate? |
| title_short | Were sauropod dinosaurs responsible for the warm Mesozoic climate? |
| title_sort | were sauropod dinosaurs responsible for the warm mesozoic climate |
| topic | sauropod dinosaurs greenhouse conditions methane palaeogeography |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095383615301218 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ajtomvanloon weresauropoddinosaursresponsibleforthewarmmesozoicclimate |