We studied how changes in Earth’s orbit affected ocean oxygen during the Devonian, a time of repeated environmental crises and extinctions. Using computer simulations, we show that certain orbital cycles, especially eccentricity maxima, exacerbate oxygen loss in the oceans, while obliquity also played a key role at high latitudes. The results also help explain why records from different places show contrasting signals and provide new insight into how natural climate cycles can affect ocean life.

We propose an innovative climate modelling framework that combines statistical methods with climate simulations to study Earth's environmental systems. The model captures how orbital changes and carbon dioxide levels influence climate atmospheric dynamics, offering a detailed and efficient way to explore long-term processes. This tool provides new opportunities to investigate Earth's climate history and its implications for future changes.

We present SURFER v3.0, a simple climate model designed to estimate the impact of CO₂ and CH₄ emissions on global temperatures, sea levels, and ocean pH. We added new carbon cycle processes and calibrated the model to observations and results from more complex models, enabling use over timescales ranging from decades to millions of years. SURFER v3.0 is fast, transparent, and easy to use, making it an ideal tool for policy assessments and suitable for educational purposes.

We used cGENIE, a climate model, to explore how changes in continental configuration, CO₂ levels, and orbital configuration affected ocean oxygen levels during the Devonian period (419–359 million years ago). Key factors contributing to ocean anoxia were identified, highlighting the influence of continental configurations, atmospheric conditions, and orbital changes. Our findings offer new insights into the causes and prolonged durations of Devonian ocean anoxic events.

The late Pleistocene glacial cycles are dominated by a 100-kyr periodicity, rather than other major astronomical periods like 19, 23, 41, or 400 kyr. Various models propose distinct mechanisms to explain this, but their diversity may obscure the key factor behind the 100-kyr periodicity. We propose a time-scale matching hypothesis, suggesting that the ice-sheet climate system responds to astronomical forcing at ~100 kyr because its intrinsic timescale is closer to 100 kyr than to other periods.