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A NEGATIVE FEEDBACK MECHANISM FOR THE LONG-TERM STABILIZATION OF EARTH'S SURFACE TEMPERATURE
Space Physics Research Laboratory, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
Space Physics Research Laboratory, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado 80302
We suggest that the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is buffered, over geological time scales, by a negative feedback mechanism in which the rate of weathering of silicate minerals (followed by deposition of carbonate minerals) depends on surface temperature, and surface temperature, in turn, depends on carbon dioxide partial pressure through the greenhouse effect. Although the quantitative details of this mechanism are speculative, it appears able partially to stabilize earth's surface temperature against the steady increase of solar luminosity believed to have occurred since the origin of the solar system.
Received 22 October 1980; accepted 29 May 1981; .
Citation: (1981), A NEGATIVE FEEDBACK MECHANISM FOR THE LONG-TERM STABILIZATION OF EARTH'S SURFACE TEMPERATURE, J. Geophys. Res., 86(C10), 9776–9782.
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