The first 150 million years history of calcareous nannoplankton : biosphere-geosphere interactions

The Mesozoic evolution of calcareous nannoplankton is here compared to global changes in the Earth system to derive possible causal links between biosphere–geosphere interactions. The Late Triassic appearance of nannofossils represents an innovation that affected the marine carbonate system, the global carbon cycle and the ocean–atmosphere CO2. Nannofossil biodiversity generally increases through the Jurassic and Cretaceous, with development of approximately 30 coccolith–nannolith families. Speciations, (mass) extinctions, diversifications and turnovers correlate with global changes in the geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere suggesting that the evolutionary patterns are intimately linked to environmental modifications. Coccolithophore biocalcification involves conversion of Ca2+ and CO32