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About 18,000 petagrams of carbon entered the system during an Early Jurassic hyperthermal
Published on 18 September 2026, the study places the release around 183 million years ago. One petagram is one billion tonnes, so the estimate equals roughly 18 trillion tonnes of carbon.
Researchers assimilated global carbon-isotope and atmospheric CO2 records into an Earth-system model. The figure therefore depends on geological dating, proxy interpretation and model structure.
Source of the carbon
The simulations favour predominantly magmatic carbon, while allowing thermogenic or biological carbon at the event’s onset.
Recovery
At least 6,800 Pg of organic carbon burial and about 6,000 Pg C of excess consumption through silicate weathering helped the climate system recover over geological time.
Why it matters
The work links the size and source of the pulse with two recovery pathways rather than treating the warming interval as a single unexplained spike.
Limits
Continents, ecosystems and timescales differed sharply from today. A large ancient total does not directly describe the rate or impacts of modern emissions.
Next check
Tighter dates from other sections and independent model runs must test the timing of carbon input, oxygen loss and recovery.
Primary source and independent checks
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