How plate tectonics, mountains and deep-sea sediments have maintained Earth's 'Goldilocks' climate

How plate tectonics, mountains and deep-sea sediments have maintained Earth's 'Goldilocks' climate

For hundreds of millions of years, Earth’s climate has warmed and cooled with natural fluctuations in the level of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere.

How plate tectonics, mountains and deep-sea sediments have maintained Earth’s ‘Goldilocks’ climate

For hundreds of millions of years, Earth’s climate has warmed and cooled with natural fluctuations in the level of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere. Over the past century, humans have pushed CO₂ levels to their highest in 2 million years – overtaking natural emissions – mostly by burning fossil fuels, causing ongoing global warming that may make parts of the globe uninhabitable.What can be done? As Earth scientists, we look to how natural …

How plate tectonics, mountains and deep-sea sediments have maintained Earth's 'Goldilocks' climate

For hundreds of millions of years, Earth's climate has warmed and cooled with natural fluctuations in the level of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere. Over the past century, humans have pushed CO₂ levels to their highest in 2 million years—overtaking natural emissions—mostly by burning fossil fuels, causing ongoing global warming that may make parts of the globe uninhabitable.