The Cretaceous was one of the most remarkable periods in the geological history,with a "greenhouse" climate and several important geological events.Reconstructions of atmospheric CO2 using proxies are crucial for understanding the Cretaceous "greenhouse." Here we summarize the major approaches for reconstructing CO2 based on palaeobotanical or geochemical data,and synthesize the CO2 variations throughout the Cretaceous.The results show that atmospheric CO2 levels remained relatively high throughout the Cretaceous,but were lower in the early Cretaceous,highest in the mid-Cretaceous and gradually declined during the late Cretaceous.
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