Measuring CO2 levels over the past 66 million years

Although 800,000 years may seem like a long time, when it comes to measuring important data, like CO2 levels, 800,000 years is just a blink of an eye. In order to gain a better understanding of the changes in CO2 levels and their fluctuations over geologic time, geoscientists have now been able to go back 66 million years. But why is it important to measure CO2 levels over such a long span of time? And how does the current CO2 levels of 419 parts per million fit in earth’s history? To answer this, and many more questions, Gabe Bowen, a geology professor at the University of Utah and a corresponding author of the recent study mapping changes in atmospheric CO2 over the past 66 million years joins Cool Science Radio.