Association of late Carboniferous wildfire records with interglacial climate change in North China Platform
WANG Ye
XING Zhixue
YANG Minfang
WANG Lei
SUN Tao
SONG Delin
SHAO Longyi
LU Jing
Abstract：Currently,global warming driven by anthropogenic factors such as the massive emission of greenhouse gases is gradually transitioning the Earth's surface climate from a Quaternary glacial period to an interglacial or greenhouse cli-mate,accompanied by increasing wildfire frequency and intensity.To reveal the role and impact of paleo-wildfires on cli-mate change during ice house period,Benxi and Taiyuan Formations of coal measures in the Liujiang coalfield of the North China Plate are focused on in this study.dating back to the Late Carboniferous glacial climate.Using inertinite con-tent in mudstone kerogen as an indicator of paleo-wildfire intensity,a comparative analysis was conducted between wild-fire development and concurrent atmospheric CO2 concentrations,volcanic activity,and glacial-interglacial climate changes in high-latitude regions.The results reveal three periods of intensified wildfires in the Late Carboniferous(late Bashkirian/WF-1,late Moscovian-early Kasimovian/WF-2,and late Gzhelian-early Asselian/WF-3).These periods oc-curred during interglacial stages of the Late Carboniferous glacial climate,characterized by increased atmospheric CO2 concentrations and heightened global volcanic activity.It is suggested by this study that intensified wildfires during inter-glacials were both a product of global warming and a factor reinforcing climate change.Global warming increased wild-fire frequency and intensity by raising global temperatures and intensifying the water cycle,leading to more frequent light-ning.In turn,wildfires exacerbated climate warming by burning vegetation,oxidizing organic matter,and melting glaciers and permafrost,releasing large amounts of greenhouse gases like CO2 into the atmosphere.Thus,wildfires were direct drivers of terrestrial ecosystem degradation during glacial periods.This research provides significant insights into the im-pact and mechanisms of glacial-interglacial cycles on low-latitude environmental changes during the Late Paleozoic gla-cial period.It also offers a scientific basis for predicting environmental and climate changes in future Quaternary glacial periods.
Keywords：late Carboniferouswildfire recordNorth China Platedeep time global warminginterglacial period
Publication Date：2025-07-31
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-22(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：9( 3579-3587 )