Scientists probe secrets of Earth’s climate past

The Sundhnjukagigar volcano erupting on the south coast of Iceland near the town of Grindavik, between Sylingarfell and Hagafell. Picture: PA

Researchers have shed new light on the role played by carbon dioxide in the warming and cooling of planet Earth.

A team from the University of St Andrews used fossils to work out how much CO2 changed during the Carboniferous and Permian periods between 335 to 265 million years ago, a time known as the Late Palaeozoic Ice Age.