![Averages over 100 trials of Siberian Traps injection scenario on a 31× 31 grid in the (fp, θ) parameter space. Mean number of DIC peaks (left), mean maximum DIC jump (top right), and mean time to return to equilibrium after end of injection phases (bottom right) are shown. The letters in the left panel correspond to parameters used in the example trials shown in Figure 10. -- [physics.ao-ph]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Modeling-the-response.png?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1)
[physics.ao-ph] We explore how the response of a conceptual model of the marine carbon cycle depends on the way in which carbon is injected from the atmosphere.
We find that, for single-injection pulses, the threshold amount required for a large response of the excitable system depends on pulse duration but not on its specific form. We do, however, see differences in the number of large transient responses in carbon and, correspondingly, the duration of the response for different pulse shapes.
These differences are magnified as the system is pushed towards increased excitability and can be understood in terms of the geometry of an increasingly winding heteroclinic orbit. Inspired by Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs), we also consider random sequences of injection pulses.
We find a wide range of possible responses for a given overall amount injected and duration, depending on the mean characteristics of the individual pulses. We also identify a resonance-like “Goldilocks” zone, in which intermediate pulse durations or arrival frequencies produce the largest number of repeated transients, and we test the framework with illustrative scenarios motivated by the Siberian Traps and Columbia River Basalt Group.
Punit Gandhi, Rowan Lockwood, Corinne Myers, Parimita Roy, Ivan Sudakow, James Witts, Hao Helen Zhang
Comments: 25 pages, 12 figures, 2 tables
Subjects: Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics (physics.ao-ph); Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP); Adaptation and Self-Organizing Systems (nlin.AO)
Cite as: arXiv:2607.12179 [physics.ao-ph] (or arXiv:2607.12179v1 [physics.ao-ph] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2607.12179
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Submission history
From: Punit Gandhi
[v1] Mon, 13 Jul 2026 21:57:30 UTC (3,474 KB)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.12179
Astrobiology, Gaia,
