Carbon Isotope Disturbances Across the Smithian/Spathian Triassic Boundary in Vietnam

Carbon isotopic excursions and detailed ammonoid and conodont biostratigraphies around Smithian–Spathian boundary in the Bac Thuy Formation, Vietnam

Authors:

Komatsu et al

Abstract:

The Smithian–Spathian boundary is indicated by the first occurrence of the ammonoid Tirolites cf. cassianus in the Olenekian Bac Thuy Formation, northeastern Vietnam. The boundary is intercalated within organic-rich dark gray mudstone that accumulated under anoxic to dysoxic conditions in the An Chau and Nanpanjiang Basins on the South China Block. In Lang Son area, three conodont zones, Novispathodus ex gr. waageni, Novispathodus ex gr. pingdingshanensis, and Icriospathodus collinsoni, are recognized in the formation. The Smithian–Spathian boundary is intercalated within N. ex gr. pingdingshanensis conodont Zone. The positive excursion inδ13C with values increasing from around − 2.3‰ to + 5.7‰ was recorded in the uppermost Smithian Xenoceltites variocostatus ammonoid beds and N. ex gr. pingdingshanensis conodont Zone. The δ13C values decrease across the Smithian–Spathian boundary. These δ13C isotopic patterns are correlated with well-known positive excursions around the Smithian–Spathian boundary globally.

Multiple Carbon Excursions Found Across Permian Triassic Boundary

Permian–Triassic boundary (PTB) in the Lower Yangtze Region, southeastern China: A new discovery of deep-water archive based on organic carbon isotopic and U–Pb geochronological studies

Authors:

Liao et al

Abstract:

The Lower Yangtze Region of southeastern China is an important area for the study of Permian–Triassic Boundary (PTB). In this region many well-known PTB sections (e.g., Meishan) have been investigated widely and extensively; however, these sections are dominantly in shallow-water settings and data from deep-water areas are lacking. To fill the gap, we conducted a field survey recently and found a deep-water PTB section with relatively continuous deposition using integrated organic carbon isotopic and U–Pb geochronological studies. This well-exposed and fresh section is located at Niushan, Xuancheng city, Anhui Province, ~ 90 km west of the well-known Meishan section, which is the PTB Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point. The organic carbon isotope curve of the section contains three positive excursions (PCIEs) and two negative excursions (NCIEs), which can be well correlated with other PTB sections as well as with Wuchiapingian–Changhsingian Boundary (WCB) sections worldwide. They archive the original PTB and WCB signatures. Further U–Pb dating of magmatic zircons in volcanic ashes validates this new finding, i.e., the PTB interval between 252.49 ± 0.76 Ma and 251.74 ± 0.77 Ma. Carbon isotopes of PTB sections in South China reflect the regional paleogeography. The two NCIEs (NCIE-2 and NCIE-3) across the PTB transition are most likely caused by widespread large-scale volcanic activity. In contrast, the NCIE-1 near the WCB is possibly related to an increase in the productivity of organic matter as a result of transgression and a change in the organic matter type from terrigenous to marine.

Ediacaran NeoProterozoic Carbon Excursion Might Have Been Shorter Lived Than Previously Believed

Paired carbonate and organic carbon isotope variations of the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation from an upper slope section at Siduping, South China

Authors:

Wang et al

Abstract:

Intensive carbon isotope analyses from the Doushantuo Formation (ca. 635–551 Ma) in South China reveal decoupled carbonate and organic carbon isotopes (δ13Ccarb and δ13Corg) that have been interpreted as recording a large dissolved organic carbon (DOC) reservoir in the Ediacaran ocean or chemoautotrophic-methanotrophic recycling/modification of organic matter in a redox-stratified ocean. Existing paired δ13Ccarb–δ13Corg data, however, are mostly from sections of an intrashelf lagoon near the Yangtze Gorges area where basin restriction may have resulted in local isotope departure from the open ocean. To better understand the spatial and temporal variations of the Ediacaran δ13C excursions, we have conducted high-resolution, paired δ13Ccarb–δ13Corg analyses of the Doushantuo Formation from an upper-slope section at Siduping, Hunan Province, South China. The data reveal three negative δ13Ccarb excursions at the basal, middle, and upper Doushantuo Formation. Two prominent negative δ13Corg anomalies are also observed in black shales and shaly dolostones at the base and top of the Doushantuo Formation. For the majority of the Doushantuo Formation, however, δ13Ccarb and δ13Corg values are decoupled, similar to those observed in the Yangtze Gorges area. Both δ13Ccarb and δ13Corg show large (up to 10‰) variations among shallow- and deep-water sections that are consistent with a large carbon isotope gradient in a stratified Ediacaran ocean. The large δ13Ccarb gradient between shallow- and deep-water sections implies the availability of sulfate in deep-water environments where the addition of authigenic carbonate films/cements into surface-ocean-derived carbonate particles in anoxic water column or pore-water led to more negative δ13Ccarb values. Significant spatial δ13Corg variations suggest that the decoupled δ13Ccarb–δ13Corg may not have been resulted from direct buffering of a large DOC reservoir but from recycling of organic matter by chemoautotrophs and methanotrophs. Compilation of available paired δ13Ccarb–δ13Corg data from the Yangtze platform reveals alternating intervals of coupled and decoupled δ13Ccarb–δ13Corg values up to the early Cambrian (≤ 520 Ma). Intervals with coupled δ13Ccarb and δ13Corg coincide with evidence for ocean oxygenation events. This phenomenon may be explained by episodic growth and oxidation of a moderate DOC reservoir 6–12 times of the modern ocean. The upper Doushantuo δ13Ccarb anomaly temporally crosses a major stratigraphic unconformity, indicating that part of the upper Doushantuo-Shuram δ13Ccarb excursion was formed during sea-level regression. Large spatial and temporal variations of the upper Doushantuo δ13Ccarb excursion may record a mixed signature of open-ocean seawater overprinted by facies-dependent isotope variation, stratigraphic truncation and authigenic/diagenetic modification along the unconformity. The real primary δ13Ccarb excursion may be shorter-lived than previously thought.

Did a Magma Injection Into Organic Sediments at the Barremian/Aptian Boundary Release Carbon Gases, Trigger Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a?

The Early Cretaceous Barents Sea Sill Complex: Distribution, 40Ar/39Ar geochronology, and implications for carbon gas formation

Authors:

Ploteau et al

Abstract:

Mafic igneous rocks of Cretaceous age (80–130 Ma) scattered around the Arctic Ocean are commonly referred to as the High Arctic Large Igneous Province (HALIP). We have mapped out the distribution of HALIP igneous rocks in the Barents Sea region over the past decade based on integrated seismic–gravity–magnetic interpretation, field work, review of publications, and analyses of new and vintage borehole and field samples. The mapping reveals abundant igneous rocks in the northern and eastern Barents Sea covering an area of ~ 900,000 km2 with a conservative volume estimate of 100,000 to 200,000 km3 of intrusions. The igneous province is dominated by sheet intrusions injected into Triassic and Permian sedimentary rocks. Hydrothermal vent complexes are rare, and only two potential vent complexes have been identified on seismic data in the eastern Barents Sea. We have further done extensive radiometric dating of the igneous samples in the Barents Sea region. New 40Ar/39Ar dating of thirteen samples from Svalbard reveal ages of crystallization and alteration. The large age span (60–140 Ma for the raw ages) is likely due to partial or complete overprint of the K/Ar system in plagioclase, and the age of the magma emplacement is better represented by U/Pb TIMS ages. Only one of our 40Ar/39Ar analyses of plagioclase yielded a statistically valid age that is in line with the recently published U/Pb TIMS ages of 122–125 Ma. The new data clearly document that relying on published data from the K/Ar system can lead to erroneous conclusions on the age of crystallization in this province without a careful use of additional 40Ar/39Ar degassing data (i.e., K/Ca). We propose that the magmatism on Svalbard and Franz Josef Land represents a distinct magmatic event near the Barremian/Aptian boundary (125 Ma) in the Barents Sea. This Early Cretaceous Barents Sea magmatism resulted in the formation of the BSSC (Barents Sea Sill Complex). BSSC age rocks are also present in Arctic Canada (Sverdrup Basin) and on Bennett Island (New Siberia Islands). The massive injection of hot magma into potentially organic-rich sediments in the eastern and northern Barents Basin caused rapid organic matter maturation and formation of thermogenic gas and oil in contact aureoles. We estimate that up to 20,000 Gt of carbon were potentially mobilized, corresponding to 175 trillion barrels of oil equivalent. The production rates and fate of the carbon gases are uncertain. However, we speculate that rapid release of aureole greenhouse gases (methane) may have triggered the Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a (OAE1a) and the associated negative δ13C excursion in the Early Aptian. Some of the methane may also be trapped in the vast hydrocarbon gas accumulations found in the east Barents Basin.

Global Warming Will Bring More Black Carbon to the Arctic Sea

University of Georgia Skidaway Institute of Oceanography scientist Aron Stubbins led a team of researchers to determine the levels of black carbon in Arctic rivers and found that the input of black carbon to the Arctic Ocean is likely to increase with global warming. The results of their study were recently published in the journal Frontiers in Earth Science.

Black carbon, or biochar, is formed when vegetation and other organic matter burns. Today black carbon is a massive store of carbon in global soils, where it is thought to be very stable--so stable, that researchers have previously suggested that adding black carbon to soils might be a good way to lock away carbon dioxide and reduce climate change. This new research reveals that the black carbon stored in Arctic soils is being exported to the oceans.

The Arctic is warming faster than other regions of the planet due to climate change. The scientists report that, as the planet warms, the amount of black carbon transported to the Arctic Ocean will likely increase. Once dissolved in the ocean and exposed to sunlight, black carbon may be rapidly converted back to the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.

link.

"Coal Should Stay in the Ground:" Carbon Capture is an Epic Failure?

Serious flaws have been found in a decade's worth of studies about the best way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stabilize the climate.

The findings, from the University of Michigan, are released as world leaders at COP21 attempt to negotiate the globe's first internationally binding climate agreement.

The U-M researchers have found that most economic analysis of carbon capture and storage, or CCS, technology for coal-fired power plants severely underestimates the technique's costs and overestimates its energy efficiency. CCS involves sucking carbon out of coal-fired power plants' flue gases, compressing it and then injecting it deep underground.

The new analysis puts the cost of reducing carbon emissions with CCS-equipped coal plants higher than any previous study -- and most importantly, higher than wind and comparable to solar power. It's the first study to confront the so-called 'energy loop' inherent in the CCS process.

Beyond a one-time 'energy penalty' these plants pay because they have to burn more coal to power devices that capture carbon, the researchers say the disadvantage compounds until fuel costs leap to four times today's accepted estimates.

"The conclusion is that renewables will be a cheaper alternative to reducing carbon emissions from coal, at least in the United States and likely globally," said Steve Skerlos, U-M professor of mechanical engineering, and civil and environmental engineering.

"To us, this means policymakers need to stop wasting time hoping for technological silver bullets to sustain the status quo in the electric sector and quickly accelerate the transition from coal to renewables, or possibly, natural gas power plants with CCS."

link.

North Carolina State University has Discovered a new Form of Carbon, can Make Diamond at Room Temperature & Pressure

Researchers from North Carolina State University have discovered a new phase of solid carbon, called Q-carbon, which is distinct from the known phases of graphite and diamond. They have also developed a technique for using Q-carbon to make diamond-related structures at room temperature and at ambient atmospheric pressure in air.

Phases are distinct forms of the same material. Graphite is one of the solid phases of carbon; diamond is another.

"We've now created a third solid phase of carbon," says Jay Narayan, the John C. Fan Distinguished Chair Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at NC State and lead author of three papers describing the work. "The only place it may be found in the natural world would be possibly in the core of some planets."

Q-carbon has some unusual characteristics. For one thing, it is ferromagnetic – which other solid forms of carbon are not.

"We didn't even think that was possible," Narayan says.

In addition, Q-carbon is harder than diamond, and glows when exposed to even low levels of energy.

"Q-carbon's strength and low work-function – its willingness to release electrons – make it very promising for developing new electronic display technologies," Narayan says.

But Q-carbon can also be used to create a variety of single-crystal diamond objects. To understand that, you have to understand the process for creating Q-carbon.

link.

Carbon Sequestered in American Temperate Forests Overestimated

Digital measurements of millions of trees indicate that previous studies likely overestimate the amount of carbon stored by temperate U.S. forests, according to a new NASA study.

The findings could help scientists better understand the impact that trees have on the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. Although it is a well-established fact that trees absorb carbon and store it long-term, researchers are unsure how much is stored in global forests.

"Estimates of the carbon content of living trees typically rely on a method that is based on cutting down trees," said Laura Duncanson, a postdoctoral fellow at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "It takes a lot of effort to cut down trees, particularly the biggest ones, so this just isn't practical to do in large numbers."

Because of this limitation, field studies aim to strategically sample trees. When looking at U.S. forests, for example, on average about 30 trees of each species would be cut down and measured. Researchers would then use basic mathematical models to scale up those measurements to many thousands, or even millions, of trees, resulting in an estimate of the biomass - the amount of carbon stored - for an entire forest.

link.

Most of Mars' Missing Carbon Escaped to Space, Implies Thinner Deep Time/Noachian Atmosphere Than Normally Thought

Mars is blanketed by a thin, mostly carbon dioxide atmosphere--one that is far too thin to prevent large amounts of water on the surface of the planet from subliming or evaporating. But many researchers have suggested that the planet was once shrouded in an atmosphere many times thicker than Earth's. For decades that left the question, "Where did all the carbon go?"

Now a team of scientists from Caltech and JPL thinks they have a possible answer. The researchers suggest that 3.8 billion years ago, Mars might have had only a moderately dense atmosphere. They have identified a photochemical process that could have helped such an early atmosphere evolve into the current thin one without creating the problem of "missing" carbon and in a way that is consistent with existing carbon isotopic measurements.

The scientists describe their findings in a paper that appears in the November 24 issue of the journal Nature Communications.

"With this new mechanism, everything that we know about the martian atmosphere can now be pieced together into a consistent picture of its evolution," says Renyu Hu, a postdoctoral scholar at JPL, a visitor in planetary science at Caltech, and lead author on the paper.

When considering how the early martian atmosphere might have transitioned to its current state, there are two possible mechanisms for the removal of excess carbon dioxide (CO2). Either the CO2 was incorporated into minerals in rocks called carbonates or it was lost to space.

A separate recent study coauthored by Bethany Ehlmann, assistant professor of planetary science and a research scientist at JPL, used data from several Mars-orbiting satellites to inventory carbonate rocks, showing that there are not enough carbonates in the upper kilometer of crust to contain the missing carbon from a very thick early atmosphere that might have existed about 3.8 billion years ago.

To study the escape-to-space scenario, scientists examine the ratio of carbon-12 and carbon-13, two stable isotopes of the element carbon that have the same number of protons in their nuclei but different numbers of neutrons, and thus different masses. Because various processes can change the relative amounts of those two isotopes in the atmosphere, "we can use these measurements of the ratio at different points in time as a fingerprint to infer exactly what happened to the martian atmosphere in the past," says Hu.

link.

Diamond Nanothread: a new (Potentially) Wunder Material Made From Carbon

Hardly a week goes by without somebody proclaiming a new application for graphene, the form of carbon that occurs in single sheets with chicken wire-like structure (see “Research Hints at Graphene’s Photovoltaic Potential”). Roll a graphene sheet into a tube and it forms a carbon nanotube, another wonder material with numerous applications. And wrap it further into a ball and, with a small rearrangement of bonds, it forms buckyballs.

Now there is a new kid on the carbon block. Last month, a team at Pennsylvania State University and elsewhere announced they had created another type of carbon that takes the form of a one-dimensional diamond crystal capped with hydrogen. They call this new material diamond nanothread.

That caused a flurry of excitement and raised some interesting questions. Materials scientists are fascinated by the potential properties of a diamond nanothread and its applications. But one fear is that such a thread would be so brittle that it would shatter like glass under any kind of load, a property that would severely limit its use.

Today, we get some new insight into diamond nanothreads thanks to the work of Haifei Zhan at Queensland University of Technology in Australia and a few pals. These guys have modeled the threads using large-scale molecular dynamics simulations. And they conclude that the material could be more versatile than anyone thought. There are tentative signs that diamond nanothread could be a new a wonder material in its own right.

link.

Explaining the Rhyacian PaleoProterozoic Lomagundi Event

The rise of oxygen and siderite oxidation during the Lomagundi Event

Authors:

Bachan et al

Abstract:

The Paleoproterozoic Lomagundi Event is an interval of 130–250 million years, ca. 2.3–2.1 billion years ago, in which extraordinarily 13C enriched (greater than 10‰) limestones and dolostones occur globally. The high levels of organic carbon burial implied by the positive δ13C values suggest the production of vast quantities of O2 as well as an alkalinity imbalance demanding extremely low levels of weathering. The oxidation of sulfides has been proposed as a mechanism capable of ameliorating these imbalances: It is a potent sink for O2 as well as a source of acidity. However, sulfide oxidation consumes more O2 than it can supply CO2, leading to insurmountable imbalances in both carbon and oxygen. In contrast, the oxidation of siderite (FeCO3 proper, as well as other Fe2+-bearing carbonate minerals), produces 4 times more CO2 than it consumes O2 and is a common—although often overlooked—constituent of Archean and Early Proterozoic sedimentary successions. Here we propose that following the initial rise of O2 in the atmosphere, oxidation of siderite provided the necessary carbon for the continued oxidation of sulfides, burial of organic carbon, and, most importantly, accumulation of free O2. The duration and magnitude of the Lomagundi Event were determined by the size of the preexisting Archean siderite reservoir, which was consumed through oxidative weathering. Our proposal helps resolve a long-standing conundrum and advances our understanding of the geologic history of atmospheric O2.

 I think I am going to drop a note to the authors and ask if they have compared the carbon 13 isotopes in the limestones and dolostones to modern ones... or at least to Phanerozoic ones.  Just to potentially rule out this.  ;)

How Much Atmospheric Carbon is Necessary to Create the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum?

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum: How much carbon is enough?

Authors:

Meissner et al

Abstract:

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), ~55.53 million years before present, was an abrupt warming event that involved profound changes in the carbon cycle and led to major perturbations of marine and terrestrial ecosystems. The PETM was triggered by the release of a massive amount of carbon, and thus the event provides an analogue for future climate and environmental changes given current anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Previous attempts to constrain the amount of carbon released have produced widely diverging results, between 2000 and 10000 gigatonnes carbon (GtC). Here we use the UVic Earth System Climate Model in conjunction with a recently published compilation of PETM temperatures [14] to constrain the initial atmospheric CO2 concentration as well as the total mass of carbon released during the event. Thirty-six simulations were initialized with varying ocean alkalinity, river runoff, and ocean sediment cover. Simulating various combinations of pre-PETM CO2 levels (840, 1680, and 2520 ppm) and total carbon releases (3000, 4500, 7000, and 10000 GtC), we find that both the 840 ppm plus 7000 GtC and 1680 ppm plus 7000–10000 GtC scenarios agree best with temperature reconstructions. Bottom waters outside the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans remain well oxygenated in all of our simulations. While the recovery time and rates are highly dependent on ocean alkalinity and sediment cover, the maximum temperature anomaly, used here to constrain the amount of carbon released, is less dependent on this slow acting feedback.

Sedimentary Conext Matters: That Carbon Isotope Excursion may NOT Mean What you Think it Does

Interpreting carbonate and organic carbon isotope covariance in the sedimentary record

Authors:

Oehlert et al

Abstract:

Many negative δ13C excursions in marine carbonates from the geological record are interpreted to record significant biogeochemical events in early Earth history. The assumption that no post-depositional processes can simultaneously alter carbonate and organic δ13C values towards more negative values is the cornerstone of this approach. However, the effects of post-depositional alteration on the relationship between carbonate and organic δ13C values have not been directly evaluated. Here we present paired carbonate and organic δ13C records that exhibit a coupled negative excursion resulting from multiple periods of meteoric alteration of the carbonate δ13C record, and consequent contributions of isotopically negative terrestrial organic matter to the sedimentary record. The possibility that carbonate and organic δ13C records can be simultaneously shifted towards lower δ13C values during periods of subaerial exposure may necessitate the reappraisal of some of the δ13C anomalies associated with noteworthy biogeochemical events throughout Earth history.

pop sci version.

A Potential Carbon Source for Subsurface, Martian Methanogenic Life

Potential Use of Highly Insoluble Carbonates as Carbon Sources by Methanogens in the Subsurface of Mars

Authors:

Kral et al

Abstract:

Methanogens, microorganisms in the domain Archaea, have been studied as life forms that might inhabit the subsurface of Mars. These organisms can use carbon dioxide as a carbon source, a compound that is abundant in the martian atmosphere. But if they exist in the deep subsurface where the carbon dioxide may not penetrate, they would have to rely on another source of carbon. Magnesium carbonate and calcium carbonate have been detected at the martian surface, and there is no reason to believe that they would not be in the subsurface as well. In the research reported here, we asked if these carbonates could possibly serve as carbon sources for four species of methanogens. Methanothermobacter wolfeii, Methanobacterium formicicum and Methanococcus maripaludis were able to produce a small amount of methane (approximately 0.4–0.8% headspace gas) when either carbonate was the carbon source available while Methanosarcina barkeri only produced significant methane (also 0.4–0.8%) when calcium carbonate was the carbon source. The amounts produced were dependent on methanogenic species, carbonate used and pH. At equilibrium, a small amount of carbon dioxide (approximately 0.05–0.15% headspace gas as well as in liquid media) was generated by these carbonates, and this carbon dioxide was most likely the carbon compound that was being metabolized. Background carbon dioxide from the atmosphere was not sufficient for measureable methane production.

Earth has More Carbon and Water Than Previously Thought

The origins and concentrations of water, carbon, nitrogen and noble gases on Earth

Author:

Marty

Abstract:

The isotopic compositions of terrestrial hydrogen and nitrogen are clearly different from those of the nebular gas from which the solar system formed, and also differ from most of cometary values. Terrestrial N and H isotopic compositions are in the range of values characterizing primitive meteorites, which suggests that water, nitrogen, and other volatile elements on Earth originated from a cosmochemical reservoir that also sourced the parent bodies of primitive meteorites. Remnants of the proto-solar nebula (PSN) are still present in the mantle, presumably signing the sequestration of PSN gas at an early stage of planetary growth. The contribution of cometary volatiles appears limited to a few percents at most of the total volatile inventory of the Earth. The isotope signatures of H, N, Ne and Ar can be explained by mixing between two end-members of solar and chondritic compositions, respectively, and do not require isotopic fractionation during hydrodynamic escape of an early atmosphere. The terrestrial inventory of 40Ar (produced by the decay of 40K throughout the Earth's history) suggests that a significant fraction of radiogenic argon may be still trapped in the silicate Earth. By normalizing other volatile element abundances to this isotope, it is proposed that the Earth is not as volatile-poor as previously thought. Our planet may indeed contain up to ~3000 ppm water (preferred range : 1000-3000 ppm), and up to ~500 ppm C, both largely sequestrated in the solid Earth. This volatile content is equivalent to a ~2 (+/-1) % contribution of carbonaceous chondrite (CI-CM) material to a dry proto-Earth, which is higher than the contribution of chondritic material advocated to account for the platinum group element budget of the mantle. Such a (relatively) high contribution of volatile-rich matter is consistent with the accretion of a few wet planetesimals during Earth accretion.

Carbyne: Carbon Stronger Than Diamond or Graphene

Chemists have calculated that chains of double or triple-bonded carbon atoms, known as carbyne, should be stronger and stiffer than any known material

The sixth element, carbon, has given us an amazing abundance of extraordinary materials. Once there was simply carbon, graphite and diamond. But in recent years chemists have added buckyballs, nanotubes and any number of exotic shapes created out of graphene, the molecular equivalent of chickenwire.

So it’s hard to believe that carbon has any more surprises up its sleeve. And yet today, Mingjie Liu and pals at Rice University in Houston calculate the properties of another form of carbon that is stronger, stiffer and more exotic than anything chemists have seen before.

The new material is called carbyne. It is a chain of carbon atoms that are linked either by alternate triple and single bonds or by consecutive double bonds.

Carbyne is something of a mystery. Astronomers believe they have detected its signature in interstellar space but chemists have been bickering for decades over whether they had ever created this stuff on Earth. A couple of years ago, however, they synthesised carbyne chains up to 44 atoms long in solution.

The thinking until now has been that carbyne must be extremely unstable. In fact some chemists have calculates that two strands of carbyne coming into contact would react explosively.

Nevertheless, nanotechnologists have been fascinated with potential of this material because it ought to be both strong and stiff and therefore useful. But exactly how strong and how stiff, no one has been quite sure.

This is where Liu and co step in. These guys have calculated from first principles the bulk properties of carbyne and the results make for interesting reading.