An ubiquitous ~62 Myr periodic fluctuation superimposed on general trends in fossil biodiversity

TL;DR

This study identifies a consistent approximately 62-million-year cycle in fossil biodiversity data, which correlates with sea level changes and mass extinctions, suggesting a potential common underlying cause.

Contribution

It demonstrates a persistent 62 Myr periodicity in fossil biodiversity across multiple datasets, indicating a possible global or astronomical influence.

Findings

The 62 Myr cycle is evident in fossil biodiversity data.

Mass extinctions tend to occur during the cycle's declining phase.

The cycle correlates with sea level and sediment changes.

Abstract

A 62 Myr periodicity is superimposed on other longer-term trends in fossil biodiversity. This cycle can be discerned in marine data based on the Sepkoski compendium, the Paleobiology Database, and the Fossil Record 2. The signal also exists in changes in sea level/sediment, but is much weaker than in biodiversity itself. A significant excess of 19 previously identified Phanerozoic mass extinctions occur on the declining phase of the 62 Myr cycle. appearance of the signal in sampling-standardized biodiversity data, it is likely not to be a sampling artifact, but either a consequence of sea-level changes or an additional effect of some common cause for them both. In either case, it is intriguing why both changes would have a regular pattern.