The Cretaceous Greenhouse World and its impact on terrestrial ecosystems in Asia Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Pascal Godefroit, Philippe Claeys
The "Cretaceous Greenhouse World" refers to an episode of Earth history that lasted from about 110 to 90 million years ago and characterized by high atmospheric CO2 levels (estimated to be 3-8 times pre-industrial CO2 concentrations), general absence of polar ice caps, reduced temperature gradients from the Equator to the poles, and much warmer oceans (5-9°C in tropical latitudes) than today. This CO2 buildup resulted from intensive submarine ...