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Climate forcing by iron fertilization from repeated ignimbrite eruptions: The icehouse–silicic large igneous province (SLIP) hypothesis

¹ New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, New Mexico 87801, USA
² Department of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA

Correspondence: *steve{at}gis.nmt.edu.

During middle Eocene to middle Miocene time, development of the Cenozoic icehouse was coincident with a prolonged episode of explosive silicic volcanism, the ignimbrite flare-up of southwestern North America. We present geochronologic and biogeochemical data suggesting that, prior to the establishment of full glacial conditions with attendant increased eolian dust emission and oceanic upwelling, iron fertilization by great volumes of silicic volcanic ash was an effective climatic forcing mechanism that helped to establish the Cenozoic icehouse. Most Phanerozoic cool-climate episodes were coeval with major explosive volcanism in silicic large igneous provinces, suggesting a common link between these phenomena.