Articles | Volume 11, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1313-2015
© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Special issue:
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1313-2015
© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Frequency, magnitude and character of hyperthermal events at the onset of the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum
V. Lauretano
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 2, 3584 CS, Utrecht, the Netherlands
K. Littler
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
now at: Camborne School of Mines, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
M. Polling
Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 2, 3584 CS, Utrecht, the Netherlands
J. C. Zachos
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
L. J. Lourens
Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 2, 3584 CS, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Related authors
Hemmo A. Abels, Vittoria Lauretano, Anna E. van Yperen, Tarek Hopman, James C. Zachos, Lucas J. Lourens, Philip D. Gingerich, and Gabriel J. Bowen
Clim. Past, 12, 1151–1163, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1151-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1151-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Ancient greenhouse warming episodes are studied in river floodplain sediments in the western interior of the USA. Paleohydrological changes of four smaller warming episodes are revealed to be the opposite of those of the largest, most-studied event. Carbon cycle tracers are used to ascertain whether the largest event was a similar event but proportional to the smaller ones or whether this event was distinct in size as well as in carbon sourcing, a question the current work cannot answer.
Xiaodong Zhang, Brett J. Tipple, Jiang Zhu, William D. Rush, Christian A. Shields, Joseph B. Novak, and James C. Zachos
Clim. Past, 20, 1615–1626, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1615-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1615-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study is motivated by the current anthropogenic-warming-forced transition in regional hydroclimate. We use observations and model simulations during the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) to constrain the regional/local hydroclimate response. Our findings, based on multiple observational evidence within the context of model output, suggest a transition toward greater aridity and precipitation extremes in central California during the PETM.
Suning Hou, Leonie Toebrock, Mart van der Linden, Fleur Rothstegge, Martin Ziegler, Lucas J. Lourens, and Peter K. Bijl
Clim. Past Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2024-33, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2024-33, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for CP
Short summary
Short summary
Based on dinoflagellate cyst assemblage and sea surface temperature record west offshore Tasmania, we find a northward migration and freshening of the subtropical front, not at the M2 glacial maximum but at its deglaciation phase. This oceanographic change aligns well with the trends in pCO2. We propose that iceberg discharge from the M2 deglaciation freshened the subtropical front, which together with the other oceanographic changes, affected atmosphere-ocean CO2 exchange in the Southern Ocean.
Marci M. Robinson, Kenneth G. Miller, Tali L. Babila, Timothy J. Bralower, James V. Browning, Marlow J. Cramwinckel, Monika Doubrawa, Gavin L. Foster, Megan K. Fung, Sean Kinney, Maria Makarova, Peter P. McLaughlin, Paul N. Pearson, Ursula Röhl, Morgan F. Schaller, Jean M. Self-Trail, Appy Sluijs, Thomas Westerhold, James D. Wright, and James C. Zachos
Sci. Dril., 33, 47–65, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-33-47-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-33-47-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) is the closest geological analog to modern anthropogenic CO2 emissions, but its causes and the responses remain enigmatic. Coastal plain sediments can resolve this uncertainty, but their discontinuous nature requires numerous sites to constrain events. Workshop participants identified 10 drill sites that target the PETM and other interesting intervals. Our post-drilling research will provide valuable insights into Earth system responses.
William Rush, Jean Self-Trail, Yang Zhang, Appy Sluijs, Henk Brinkhuis, James Zachos, James G. Ogg, and Marci Robinson
Clim. Past, 19, 1677–1698, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1677-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1677-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Eocene contains several brief warming periods referred to as hyperthermals. Studying these events and how they varied between locations can help provide insight into our future warmer world. This study provides a characterization of two of these events in the mid-Atlantic region of the USA. The records of climate that we measured demonstrate significant changes during this time period, but the type and timing of these changes highlight the complexity of climatic changes.
David A. Hodell, Simon J. Crowhurst, Lucas Lourens, Vasiliki Margari, John Nicolson, James E. Rolfe, Luke C. Skinner, Nicola C. Thomas, Polychronis C. Tzedakis, Maryline J. Mleneck-Vautravers, and Eric W. Wolff
Clim. Past, 19, 607–636, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-607-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-607-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We produced a 1.5-million-year-long history of climate change at International Ocean Discovery Program Site U1385 of the Iberian margin, a well-known location for rapidly accumulating sediments on the seafloor. Our record demonstrates that longer-term orbital changes in Earth's climate were persistently overprinted by abrupt millennial-to-centennial climate variability. The occurrence of abrupt climate change is modulated by the slower variations in Earth's orbit and climate background state.
Rick Hennekam, Katharine M. Grant, Eelco J. Rohling, Rik Tjallingii, David Heslop, Andrew P. Roberts, Lucas J. Lourens, and Gert-Jan Reichart
Clim. Past, 18, 2509–2521, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-2509-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-2509-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The ratio of titanium to aluminum (Ti/Al) is an established way to reconstruct North African climate in eastern Mediterranean Sea sediments. We demonstrate here how to obtain reliable Ti/Al data using an efficient scanning method that allows rapid acquisition of long climate records at low expense. Using this method, we reconstruct a 3-million-year North African climate record. African environmental variability was paced predominantly by low-latitude insolation from 3–1.2 million years ago.
Henry Hooghiemstra, Gustavo Sarmiento Pérez, Vladimir Torres Torres, Juan-Carlos Berrío, Lucas Lourens, and Suzette G. A. Flantua
Sci. Dril., 30, 1–15, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-30-1-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-30-1-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This is a brief overview of long continental fossil pollen records globally in relationship with marine records. Specifically, the Northern Andes is a key area in developing and testing hypotheses in the fields of ecology, paleobiogeography, and climate change in tropical regions. We review 60 years of deep drilling experience in this region that have led to landmark records. We also highlight the early development of long continental pollen records from unique, deep, sediment-filled basins.
Anna Joy Drury, Diederik Liebrand, Thomas Westerhold, Helen M. Beddow, David A. Hodell, Nina Rohlfs, Roy H. Wilkens, Mitchell Lyle, David B. Bell, Dick Kroon, Heiko Pälike, and Lucas J. Lourens
Clim. Past, 17, 2091–2117, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2091-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2091-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We use the first high-resolution southeast Atlantic carbonate record to see how climate dynamics evolved since 30 million years ago (Ma). During ~ 30–13 Ma, eccentricity (orbital circularity) paced carbonate deposition. After the mid-Miocene Climate Transition (~ 14 Ma), precession (Earth's tilt direction) increasingly drove carbonate variability. In the latest Miocene (~ 8 Ma), obliquity (Earth's tilt) pacing appeared, signalling increasing high-latitude influence.
Bas de Boer, Marit Peters, and Lucas J. Lourens
Clim. Past, 17, 331–344, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-331-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-331-2021, 2021
Emily Dearing Crampton-Flood, Lars J. Noorbergen, Damian Smits, R. Christine Boschman, Timme H. Donders, Dirk K. Munsterman, Johan ten Veen, Francien Peterse, Lucas Lourens, and Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté
Clim. Past, 16, 523–541, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-523-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-523-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The mid-Pliocene warm period (mPWP; 3.3–3.0 million years ago) is thought to be the last geological interval with similar atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations as the present day. Further, the mPWP was 2–3 °C warmer than present, making it a good analogue for estimating the effects of future climate change. Here, we construct a new precise age model for the North Sea during the mPWP, and provide a detailed reconstruction of terrestrial and marine climate using a multi-proxy approach.
Christopher J. Hollis, Tom Dunkley Jones, Eleni Anagnostou, Peter K. Bijl, Marlow Julius Cramwinckel, Ying Cui, Gerald R. Dickens, Kirsty M. Edgar, Yvette Eley, David Evans, Gavin L. Foster, Joost Frieling, Gordon N. Inglis, Elizabeth M. Kennedy, Reinhard Kozdon, Vittoria Lauretano, Caroline H. Lear, Kate Littler, Lucas Lourens, A. Nele Meckler, B. David A. Naafs, Heiko Pälike, Richard D. Pancost, Paul N. Pearson, Ursula Röhl, Dana L. Royer, Ulrich Salzmann, Brian A. Schubert, Hannu Seebeck, Appy Sluijs, Robert P. Speijer, Peter Stassen, Jessica Tierney, Aradhna Tripati, Bridget Wade, Thomas Westerhold, Caitlyn Witkowski, James C. Zachos, Yi Ge Zhang, Matthew Huber, and Daniel J. Lunt
Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 3149–3206, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-3149-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-3149-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The Deep-Time Model Intercomparison Project (DeepMIP) is a model–data intercomparison of the early Eocene (around 55 million years ago), the last time that Earth's atmospheric CO2 concentrations exceeded 1000 ppm. Previously, we outlined the experimental design for climate model simulations. Here, we outline the methods used for compilation and analysis of climate proxy data. The resulting climate
atlaswill provide insights into the mechanisms that control past warm climate states.
Timme H. Donders, Niels A. G. M. van Helmond, Roel Verreussel, Dirk Munsterman, Johan ten Veen, Robert P. Speijer, Johan W. H. Weijers, Francesca Sangiorgi, Francien Peterse, Gert-Jan Reichart, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, Lucas Lourens, Gesa Kuhlmann, and Henk Brinkhuis
Clim. Past, 14, 397–411, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-397-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-397-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The buildup and melting of ice during the early glaciations in the Northern Hemisphere, around 2.5 million years ago, were far shorter in duration than during the last million years. Based on molecular compounds and microfossils from sediments dating back to the early glaciations we show that the temperature on land and in the sea changed simultaneously and was a major factor in the ice buildup in the Northern Hemisphere. These data provide key insights into the dynamics of early glaciations.
Helen M. Beddow, Diederik Liebrand, Douglas S. Wilson, Frits J. Hilgen, Appy Sluijs, Bridget S. Wade, and Lucas J. Lourens
Clim. Past, 14, 255–270, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-255-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-255-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We present two astronomy-based timescales for climate records from the Pacific Ocean. These records range from 24 to 22 million years ago, a time period when Earth was warmer than today and the only land ice was located on Antarctica. We use tectonic plate-pair spreading rates to test the two timescales, which shows that the carbonate record yields the best timescale. In turn, this implies that Earth’s climate system and carbon cycle responded slowly to changes in incoming solar radiation.
Lennert B. Stap, Roderik S. W. van de Wal, Bas de Boer, Richard Bintanja, and Lucas J. Lourens
Clim. Past, 13, 1243–1257, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1243-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1243-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We show the results of transient simulations with a coupled climate–ice sheet model over the past 38 million years. The CO2 forcing of the model is inversely obtained from a benthic δ18O stack. These simulations enable us to study the influence of ice sheet variability on climate change on long timescales. We find that ice sheet–climate interaction strongly enhances Earth system sensitivity and polar amplification.
Thomas Westerhold, Ursula Röhl, Thomas Frederichs, Claudia Agnini, Isabella Raffi, James C. Zachos, and Roy H. Wilkens
Clim. Past, 13, 1129–1152, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1129-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1129-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We assembled a very accurate geological timescale from the interval 47.8 to 56.0 million years ago, also known as the Ypresian stage. We used cyclic variations in the data caused by periodic changes in Earthäs orbit around the sun as a metronome for timescale construction. Our new data compilation provides the first geological evidence for chaos in the long-term behavior of planetary orbits in the solar system, as postulated almost 30 years ago, and a possible link to plate tectonics events.
Stefanie Kaboth, Patrick Grunert, and Lucas Lourens
Clim. Past, 13, 1023–1035, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1023-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1023-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
This study is devoted to reconstructing Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) variability and the interplay between the Mediterranean and North Atlantic climate systems during the Early Pleistocene. We find indication that the increasing production of MOW aligns with the intensification of the North Atlantic overturning circulation, highlighting the potential of MOW to modulate the North Atlantic salt budget. Our results are based on new stable isotope and grain-size data from IODP 339 Site U1389.
Daniel J. Lunt, Matthew Huber, Eleni Anagnostou, Michiel L. J. Baatsen, Rodrigo Caballero, Rob DeConto, Henk A. Dijkstra, Yannick Donnadieu, David Evans, Ran Feng, Gavin L. Foster, Ed Gasson, Anna S. von der Heydt, Chris J. Hollis, Gordon N. Inglis, Stephen M. Jones, Jeff Kiehl, Sandy Kirtland Turner, Robert L. Korty, Reinhardt Kozdon, Srinath Krishnan, Jean-Baptiste Ladant, Petra Langebroek, Caroline H. Lear, Allegra N. LeGrande, Kate Littler, Paul Markwick, Bette Otto-Bliesner, Paul Pearson, Christopher J. Poulsen, Ulrich Salzmann, Christine Shields, Kathryn Snell, Michael Stärz, James Super, Clay Tabor, Jessica E. Tierney, Gregory J. L. Tourte, Aradhna Tripati, Garland R. Upchurch, Bridget S. Wade, Scott L. Wing, Arne M. E. Winguth, Nicky M. Wright, James C. Zachos, and Richard E. Zeebe
Geosci. Model Dev., 10, 889–901, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-10-889-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-10-889-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper we describe the experimental design for a set of simulations which will be carried out by a range of climate models, all investigating the climate of the Eocene, about 50 million years ago. The intercomparison of model results is called 'DeepMIP', and we anticipate that we will contribute to the next IPCC report through an analysis of these simulations and the geological data to which we will compare them.
Hemmo A. Abels, Vittoria Lauretano, Anna E. van Yperen, Tarek Hopman, James C. Zachos, Lucas J. Lourens, Philip D. Gingerich, and Gabriel J. Bowen
Clim. Past, 12, 1151–1163, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1151-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1151-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Ancient greenhouse warming episodes are studied in river floodplain sediments in the western interior of the USA. Paleohydrological changes of four smaller warming episodes are revealed to be the opposite of those of the largest, most-studied event. Carbon cycle tracers are used to ascertain whether the largest event was a similar event but proportional to the smaller ones or whether this event was distinct in size as well as in carbon sourcing, a question the current work cannot answer.
J. H. C. Bosmans, F. J. Hilgen, E. Tuenter, and L. J. Lourens
Clim. Past, 11, 1335–1346, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1335-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1335-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Our study shows that the influence of obliquity (the tilt of Earth's rotational axis) can be explained through changes in the insolation gradient across the tropics. This explanation is fundamentally different from high-latitude mechanisms that were previously often inferred to explain obliquity signals in low-latitude paleoclimate records, for instance glacial fluctuations. Our study is based on state-of-the-art climate model experiments.
T. Westerhold, U. Röhl, T. Frederichs, S. M. Bohaty, and J. C. Zachos
Clim. Past, 11, 1181–1195, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1181-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1181-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Testing hypotheses for mechanisms and dynamics of past climate change relies on the accuracy of geological dating. Development of a highly accurate geological timescale for the Cenozoic Era has previously been hampered by discrepancies between radioisotopic and astronomical dating methods, as well as a stratigraphic gap in the middle Eocene. We close this gap and provide a fundamental advance in establishing a reliable and highly accurate geological timescale for the last 66 million years.
C. J. Hollis, B. R. Hines, K. Littler, V. Villasante-Marcos, D. K. Kulhanek, C. P. Strong, J. C. Zachos, S. M. Eggins, L. Northcote, and A. Phillips
Clim. Past, 11, 1009–1025, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1009-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1009-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Re-examination of a Deep Sea Drilling Project sediment core (DSDP Site 277) from the western Campbell Plateau has identified the initial phase of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) within nannofossil chalk, the first record of the PETM in an oceanic setting in the southern Pacific Ocean (paleolatitude of ~65°S). Geochemical proxies indicate that intermediate and surface waters warmed by ~6° at the onset of the PETM prior to the full development of the negative δ13C excursion.
B. S. Slotnick, V. Lauretano, J. Backman, G. R. Dickens, A. Sluijs, and L. Lourens
Clim. Past, 11, 473–493, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-473-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-473-2015, 2015
L. B. Stap, R. S. W. van de Wal, B. de Boer, R. Bintanja, and L. J. Lourens
Clim. Past, 10, 2135–2152, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-2135-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-2135-2014, 2014
J. S. Eldrett, D. R. Greenwood, M. Polling, H. Brinkhuis, and A. Sluijs
Clim. Past, 10, 759–769, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-759-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-759-2014, 2014
D. A. Hodell, L. Lourens, D. A. V. Stow, J. Hernández-Molina, C. A. Alvarez Zarikian, and the Shackleton Site Project Members
Sci. Dril., 16, 13–19, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-16-13-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-16-13-2013, 2013
R. S. W. van de Wal, B. de Boer, L. J. Lourens, P. Köhler, and R. Bintanja
Clim. Past, 7, 1459–1469, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-7-1459-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-7-1459-2011, 2011
D. Liebrand, L. J. Lourens, D. A. Hodell, B. de Boer, R. S. W. van de Wal, and H. Pälike
Clim. Past, 7, 869–880, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-7-869-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-7-869-2011, 2011
Related subject area
Subject: Carbon Cycle | Archive: Marine Archives | Timescale: Cenozoic
Precise dating of deglacial Laptev Sea sediments via 14C and authigenic 10Be/9Be – assessing local 14C reservoir ages
Late Eocene to early Oligocene productivity events in the proto-Southern Ocean and correlation to climate change
Variations in the Biological Pump through the Miocene: Evidence from organic carbon burial in Pacific Ocean sediments
Tracing North Atlantic volcanism and seaway connectivity across the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM)
Late Paleocene CO2 drawdown, climatic cooling and terrestrial denudation in the southwest Pacific
Late Miocene to Holocene high-resolution eastern equatorial Pacific carbonate records: stratigraphy linked by dissolution and paleoproductivity
Glacial CO2 decrease and deep-water deoxygenation by iron fertilization from glaciogenic dust
Reduced carbon cycle resilience across the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum
Tropical Atlantic climate and ecosystem regime shifts during the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum
Ocean carbon cycling during the past 130 000 years – a pilot study on inverse palaeoclimate record modelling
Major perturbations in the global carbon cycle and photosymbiont-bearing planktic foraminifera during the early Eocene
Stable isotope and calcareous nannofossil assemblage record of the late Paleocene and early Eocene (Cicogna section)
Astronomical calibration of the geological timescale: closing the middle Eocene gap
Early Paleogene variations in the calcite compensation depth: new constraints using old borehole sediments from across Ninetyeast Ridge, central Indian Ocean
A seasonality trigger for carbon injection at the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum
Down the Rabbit Hole: toward appropriate discussion of methane release from gas hydrate systems during the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum and other past hyperthermal events
Southern ocean warming, sea level and hydrological change during the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum
Perturbing phytoplankton: response and isotopic fractionation with changing carbonate chemistry in two coccolithophore species
Arnaud Nicolas, Gesine Mollenhauer, Johannes Lachner, Konstanze Stübner, Maylin Malter, Jutta Wollenburg, Hendrik Grotheer, and Florian Adolphi
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1992, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1992, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We use the authigenic 10Be/9Be record of a Laptev Sea sediment core for the period 8–14 kyr BP and synchronize it with the 10Be records from absolutely dated ice cores. We employed a likelihood function to calculate the ΔR values. A benthic ΔR value of +345±60 14C years was estimated, which corresponds to a marine reservoir age of 848±90 14C years. This new ΔR value was used to refine the age-depth model for core PS2458-4, establishing it as a potential reference chronology for the Laptev Sea.
Gabrielle Rodrigues de Faria, David Lazarus, Johan Renaudie, Jessica Stammeier, Volkan Özen, and Ulrich Struck
Clim. Past, 20, 1327–1348, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1327-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1327-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Export productivity is part of the global carbon cycle, influencing the climate system via biological pump. About 34 million years ago, the Earth's climate experienced a climate transition from a greenhouse state to an icehouse state with the onset of ice sheets in Antarctica. Our study shows important productivity events in the Southern Ocean preceding this climatic shift. Our findings strongly indicate that the biological pump potentially played an important role in that past climate change.
Mitchell Lyle and Annette Olivarez Lyle
Clim. Past Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2024-34, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2024-34, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for CP
Short summary
Short summary
Studies of past warm intervals show that greenhouse gases are a key factor to warm the earth. However, feedbacks are needed to maintain warm periods. We investigate whether changes in the ocean degradation depth for plankton-produced organic matter might change ocean carbon storage. Low Corg burial in sediments of the Miocene Climate Optimum (MCO) warm interval relative to more recent periods fits with less efficient Corg transfer to the abyss, maintaining a higher level of MCO atmospheric CO2.
Morgan T. Jones, Ella W. Stokke, Alan D. Rooney, Joost Frieling, Philip A. E. Pogge von Strandmann, David J. Wilson, Henrik H. Svensen, Sverre Planke, Thierry Adatte, Nicolas Thibault, Madeleine L. Vickers, Tamsin A. Mather, Christian Tegner, Valentin Zuchuat, and Bo P. Schultz
Clim. Past, 19, 1623–1652, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1623-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1623-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
There are periods in Earth’s history when huge volumes of magma are erupted at the Earth’s surface. The gases released from volcanic eruptions and from sediments heated by the magma are believed to have caused severe climate changes in the geological past. We use a variety of volcanic and climatic tracers to assess how the North Atlantic Igneous Province (56–54 Ma) affected the oceans and atmosphere during a period of extreme global warming.
Christopher J. Hollis, Sebastian Naeher, Christopher D. Clowes, B. David A. Naafs, Richard D. Pancost, Kyle W. R. Taylor, Jenny Dahl, Xun Li, G. Todd Ventura, and Richard Sykes
Clim. Past, 18, 1295–1320, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1295-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1295-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Previous studies of Paleogene greenhouse climates identified short-lived global warming events, termed hyperthermals, that provide insights into global warming scenarios. Within the same time period, we have identified a short-lived cooling event in the late Paleocene, which we term a hypothermal, that has potential to provide novel insights into the feedback mechanisms at work in a greenhouse climate.
Mitchell Lyle, Anna Joy Drury, Jun Tian, Roy Wilkens, and Thomas Westerhold
Clim. Past, 15, 1715–1739, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1715-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1715-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Ocean sediment records document changes in Earth’s carbon cycle and ocean productivity. We present 8 Myr CaCO3 and bulk sediment records from seven eastern Pacific scientific drill sites to identify intervals of excess CaCO3 dissolution (high carbon storage in the oceans) and excess burial of plankton hard parts indicating high productivity. We define the regional extent of production intervals and explore the impact of the closure of the Atlantic–Pacific Panama connection on CaCO3 burial.
Akitomo Yamamoto, Ayako Abe-Ouchi, Rumi Ohgaito, Akinori Ito, and Akira Oka
Clim. Past, 15, 981–996, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-981-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-981-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Proxy records of glacial oxygen change provide constraints on the contribution of the biological pump to glacial CO2 decrease. Here, we report our numerical simulation which successfully reproduces records of glacial oxygen changes and shows the significance of iron supply from glaciogenic dust. Our model simulations clarify that the enhanced efficiency of the biological pump is responsible for glacial CO2 decline of more than 30 ppm and approximately half of deep-ocean deoxygenation.
David I. Armstrong McKay and Timothy M. Lenton
Clim. Past, 14, 1515–1527, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1515-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1515-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
This study uses statistical analyses to look for signs of declining resilience (i.e. greater sensitivity to small shocks) in the global carbon cycle and climate system across the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), a global warming event 56 Myr ago driven by rapid carbon release. Our main finding is that carbon cycle resilience declined in the 1.5 Myr beforehand (a time of significant volcanic emissions), which is consistent with but not proof of a carbon release tipping point at the PETM.
Joost Frieling, Gert-Jan Reichart, Jack J. Middelburg, Ursula Röhl, Thomas Westerhold, Steven M. Bohaty, and Appy Sluijs
Clim. Past, 14, 39–55, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-39-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-39-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Past periods of rapid global warming such as the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum are used to study biotic response to climate change. We show that very high peak PETM temperatures in the tropical Atlantic (~ 37 ºC) caused heat stress in several marine plankton groups. However, only slightly cooler temperatures afterwards allowed highly diverse plankton communities to bloom. This shows that tropical plankton communities may be susceptible to extreme warming, but may also recover rapidly.
Christoph Heinze, Babette A. A. Hoogakker, and Arne Winguth
Clim. Past, 12, 1949–1978, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1949-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1949-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Sensitivities of sediment tracers to changes in carbon cycle parameters were determined with a global ocean model. The sensitivities were combined with sediment and ice core data. The results suggest a drawdown of the sea surface temperature by 5 °C, an outgassing of the land biosphere by 430 Pg C, and a strengthening of the vertical carbon transfer by biological processes at the Last Glacial Maximum. A glacial change in marine calcium carbonate production can neither be proven nor rejected.
Valeria Luciani, Gerald R. Dickens, Jan Backman, Eliana Fornaciari, Luca Giusberti, Claudia Agnini, and Roberta D'Onofrio
Clim. Past, 12, 981–1007, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-981-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-981-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
The symbiont-bearing planktic foraminiferal genera Morozovella and Acarinina were among the most important calcifiers of the early Paleogene tropical and subtropical oceans. However, a remarkable and permanent switch in the relative abundance of these genera happened in the early Eocene. We show that this switch occurred at low-latitude sites near the start of the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO), a multi-million-year interval when Earth surface temperatures reached their Cenozoic maximum.
Claudia Agnini, David J. A. Spofforth, Gerald R. Dickens, Domenico Rio, Heiko Pälike, Jan Backman, Giovanni Muttoni, and Edoardo Dallanave
Clim. Past, 12, 883–909, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-883-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-883-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper we present records of stable C and O isotopes, CaCO3 content, and changes in calcareous nannofossil assemblages in a upper Paleocene-lower Eocene rocks now exposed in northeast Italy. Modifications of nannoplankton assemblages and carbon isotopes are strictly linked one to each other and always display the same ranking and spacing. The integration of this two data sets represents a significative improvement in our capacity to correlate different sections at a very high resolution.
T. Westerhold, U. Röhl, T. Frederichs, S. M. Bohaty, and J. C. Zachos
Clim. Past, 11, 1181–1195, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1181-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1181-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Testing hypotheses for mechanisms and dynamics of past climate change relies on the accuracy of geological dating. Development of a highly accurate geological timescale for the Cenozoic Era has previously been hampered by discrepancies between radioisotopic and astronomical dating methods, as well as a stratigraphic gap in the middle Eocene. We close this gap and provide a fundamental advance in establishing a reliable and highly accurate geological timescale for the last 66 million years.
B. S. Slotnick, V. Lauretano, J. Backman, G. R. Dickens, A. Sluijs, and L. Lourens
Clim. Past, 11, 473–493, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-473-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-473-2015, 2015
J. S. Eldrett, D. R. Greenwood, M. Polling, H. Brinkhuis, and A. Sluijs
Clim. Past, 10, 759–769, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-759-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-759-2014, 2014
G. R. Dickens
Clim. Past, 7, 831–846, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-7-831-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-7-831-2011, 2011
A. Sluijs, P. K. Bijl, S. Schouten, U. Röhl, G.-J. Reichart, and H. Brinkhuis
Clim. Past, 7, 47–61, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-7-47-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-7-47-2011, 2011
R. E. M. Rickaby, J. Henderiks, and J. N. Young
Clim. Past, 6, 771–785, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-6-771-2010, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-6-771-2010, 2010
Cited articles
Abels, H. A., Clyde, W. C., Gingerich, P. D., Hilgen, F. J., Fricke, H. C., Bowen, G. J., and Lourens, L. J.: Terrestrial carbon isotope excursions and biotic change during Palaeogene hyperthermals, Nat. Geosci., 5, 326–329, https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1427, 2012.
Abels, H. A., Lauretano, V., van Yperen, A., Hopman, T., Zachos, J. C., Lourens, L. J., Gingerich, P. D., and Bowen, G. J.: Carbon isotope excursions in paleosol carbonate marking five early Eocene hyperthermals in the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, Clim. Past Discuss., 11, 1857–1885, https://doi.org/10.5194/cpd-11-1857-2015, 2015.
Agnini, C., Macri, P., Backman, J., Brinkhuis, H., Fornaciari, E., Giusberti, L., Luciani, V., Rio, D., Sluijs, A., and Speranza, F.: An early Eocene carbon cycle perturbation at 52.5 Ma in the Southern Alps: Chronology and biotic response, Paleoceanography, 24, PA2209, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008PA001649, 2009.
Bemis, B. E., Spero, H. J., Bijma, J., and Lea, D. W.: Reevaluation of the oxygen isotopic composition of planktonic foraminifera: Experimental results and revised paleotemperature equations, Paleoceanography, 13, 150–160, 1998.
Bijl, P. K., Schouten, S., Sluijs, A., Reichart, G.-J., Zachos, J. C., and Brinkhuis, H.: Early Palaeogene temperature evolution of the southwest Pacific Ocean, Nature, 461, 776–779, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08399, 2009.
Cramer, B. S., Wright, J. D., Kent, D. V., and Aubry, M.-P.: Orbital climate forcing of δ13C excursions in the late Paleocene-early Eocene (chrons C24n–C25n), Paleoceanography, 18, 1097, https://doi.org/10.1029/2003PA000909, 2003.
D'haenens, S., Bornemann, A., Stassen, P., and Speijer, R. P.: Multiple early Eocene benthic foraminiferal assemblage and δ13C fluctuations at DSDP Site 401 (Bay of Biscay – NE Atlantic), Mar. Micropaleontol., 88–89, 15–35, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marmicro.2012.02.006, 2012.
DeConto, R. M., Galeotti, S., Pagani, M., Tracy, D., Schaefer, K., Zhang, T., Pollard, D., and Beerling, D. J.: Past extreme warming events linked to massive carbon release from thawing permafrost, Nature, 484, 87–91, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10929, 2012.
Dickens, G. R.: Rethinking the global carbon cycle with a large, dynamic and microbially mediated gas hydrate capacitor, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 213, 169–183, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0012-821X(03)00325-X, 2003.
Dickens, G. R, O'Neil, J. R., Rea, D. K., and Owen, R. M.: Dissociation of oceanic methane hydrate as a cause of the carbon isotope excursion at the end of the Paleocene, Paleoceanography, 10, 965–971, 1995.
Dinarès-Turell, J., Westerhold, T., Pujalte, V., Röhl, U., and Kroon, D.: Astronomical calibration of the Danian stage (Early Paleocene) revisited: Settling chronologies of sedimentary records across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 405, 119–131, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2014.08.027, 2014.
Galeotti, S., Krishnan, S., Pagani, M., Lanci, L., Gaudio, A., Zachos, J. C., Monechi, S., Morelli, G., and Lourens, L. J.: Orbital chronology of Early Eocene hyperthermals from the Contessa Road section, central Italy, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 290, 192–200, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2009.12.021, 2010.
Gibbs, S. J., Bown, P. R., Murphy, B. H., Sluijs, A., Edgar, K. M., Pälike, H., Bolton, C. T., and Zachos, J. C.: Scaled biotic disruption during early Eocene global warming events, Biogeosciences, 9, 4679–4688, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-9-4679-2012, 2012.
Hilgen, F. J., Kuiper, K. F., and Lourens, L. J.: Evaluation of the astronomical time scale for the Paleocene and earliest Eocene, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 300, 139–151, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2010.09.044, 2010.
Hilgen, F. J., Abels, H. A., Kuiper, K. F., Lourens, L. J., and Wolthers, M.: Towards a stable astronomical time scale for the Paleocene: Aligning Shatsky Rise with the Zumaia – Walvis Ridge ODP Site 1262 composite, Newsletters Stratigr., 48, 91–110, https://doi.org/10.1127/nos/2014/0054, 2015.
Holbourn, A., Kuhnt, W., Schulz, M., Flores, J.-A., and Andersen, N.: Orbitally-paced climate evolution during the middle Miocene "Monterey" carbon isotope excursion, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 261, 534–550, 2007.
Hönisch, B., Ridgwell, A., Schmidt, D. N., Thomas, E., Gibbs, S. J., Sluijs, A., Zeebe, R., Kump, L., Martindale, R. C., Greene, S. E., Kiessling, W., Ries, J., Zachos, J. C., Royer, D. L., Barker, S., Marchitto, T. M., Moyer, R., Pelejero, C., Ziveri, P., Foster, G. L., and Williams, B.: The geological record of ocean acidification, Science, 335, 1058–63, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1208277, 2012.
Hut, G.: Stable isotope reference samples for geochemical and hydrological investigations, Consultants Group Meeting, report, Int. At. Energy Agency,Vienna, Austria, 42 pp., 1987.
Jennions, S. M., Thomas, E., Schmidt, D. N., Lunt, D., and Ridgwell, A.: Changes in benthic ecosystems and ocean circulation in the Southeast Atlantic across Eocene Thermal Maximum 2, Paleoceanography, 30, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015PA002821, 2015.
Kennett, J. P. and Stott, L. D.: Abrupt deep-sea warming, palaeoceanographic changes and benthic extinctions at the end of the Palaeocene, Nature, 353, 225–229, https://doi.org/10.1038/353225a0, 1991.
Kirtland Turner, S., Sexton, P. F., Charles, C. D., and Norris, R. D.: Persistence of carbon release events through the peak of early Eocene global warmth, Nat. Geosci., 12, 1–17, https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2240, 2014.
Kuiper, K. F., Deino, A., Hilgen, F. J., Krijgsman, W., Renne, P. R., and Wijbrans, J. R.: Synchronizing rock clocks of Earth history., Science, 320, 500–504, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1154339, 2008.
Kurtz, A. C., Kump, L. R., Arthur, M. A., Zachos, J. C., and Paytan, A.: Early Cenozoic decoupling of the global carbon and sulfur cycles, Paleoceanography, 18, 1090, \https://doi.org/10.1029/2003PA000908, 2003.
Laskar, J., Fienga, A., Gastineau, M., and Manche, H.: La2010: A new orbital solution for the long term motion of the Earth, Astron. Astrophys., 532, 15 pp., https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201116836, 2011.
Liebrand, D., Lourens, L. J., Hodell, D. A., de Boer, B., van de Wal, R. S. W., and Pälike, H.: Antarctic ice sheet and oceanographic response to eccentricity forcing during the early Miocene, Clim. Past, 7, 869–880, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-7-869-2011, 2011.
Littler, K., Röhl, U., Westerhold, T., and Zachos, J. C.: A high-resolution benthic stable-isotope record for the South Atlantic: Implications for orbital-scale changes in Late Paleocene-Early Eocene climate and carbon cycling, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 401, 18–30, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2014.05.054, 2014.
Lourens, L. J., Sluijs, A., Kroon, D., Zachos, J. C., Thomas, E., Röhl, U., Bowles, J., and Raffi, I.: Astronomical pacing of late Palaeocene to early Eocene global warming events, Nature, 435, 1083–1087, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03814, 2005.
Lunt, D. J., Valdes, P. J., Jones, T. D., Ridgwell, A., Haywood, A. M., Schmidt, D. N., Marsh, R., and Maslin, M.: CO2-driven ocean circulation changes as an amplifier of Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum hydrate destabilization, Geology, 38, 875–878, https://doi.org/10.1130/G31184.1, 2010.
Lunt, D. J., Ridgwell, A., Sluijs, A., Zachos, J. C., Hunter, S., and Haywood, A.: A model for orbital pacing of methane hydrate destabilization during the Palaeogene, Nat. Geosci., 4, 775–778, https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1266, 2011.
McInerney, F. A. and Wing, S. L.: The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum: A Perturbation of Carbon Cycle, Climate, and Biosphere with Implications for the Future, Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci., 39, 489–516, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-earth-040610-133431, 2011.
Nicolo, M. J., Dickens, G. R., Hollis, C. J., and Zachos, J. C.: Multiple early Eocene hyperthermals: Their sedimentary expression on the New Zealand continental margin and in the deep sea, Geology, 35, 699, https://doi.org/10.1130/G23648A.1, 2007.
Paillard, D., Labeyrie, L., and Yiou, P.: Macintosh program performs time-series analysis, Eos Trans. AGU, 77, 379, 1996.
Pälike, H., Norris, R. D., Herrle, J. O., Wilson, P. A., Coxall, H. K., Lear, C. H., Shackleton, N. J., Tripati, A. K., and Wade, B. S.: The heart- beat of the Oligocene climate system, Science, 314, 1894–1998, 2006.
Renne, P. R., Deino, A. L., Hilgen, F. J., Kuiper, K. F., Mark, D. F., Mitchell, W. S., Morgan, L. E., Mundil, R., and Smit, J.: Time scales of critical events around the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, Science, 339, 684–687, \https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1230492, 2013.
Röhl, U., Westerhold, T., Monechi, S., Thomas, E., Zachos, J. C., and Donner, B.: The Third and Final Early Eocene Thermal Maximum: Characteristics, Timing and Mechanisms of the `X' Event, GSA Annual Meeting 37, Geological Society of America, Salt Lake City, USA, 264 pp., 2005.
Sexton, P. F., Norris, R. D., Wilson, P. A., Pälike, H., Westerhold, T., Röhl, U., Bolton, C. T., and Gibbs, S.: Eocene global warming events driven by ventilation of oceanic dissolved organic carbon, Nature, 471, 349–352, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09826, 2011.
Shackleton, N. J. and Hall, M. A: The late Miocene stable isotope record, Site 926, Proc. Ocean Drill. Program Sci. Results, 154, 367–373, https://doi.org/10.2973/odp.proc.sr.154.119.1997, 1997.
Shackleton, N. J., Hall, M. A., and Boersma, A.: Oxygen and carbon isotope data from Leg-74 foraminifers, Initial Rep. Deep Sea Drill. Project, 74, 599–612, 1984.
Slotnick, B. S., Dickens, G. R., Nicolo, M. J., Hollis, C. J., Crampton, J. S., Zachos, J. C., and Sluijs, A.: Large-Amplitude Variations in Carbon Cycling and Terrestrial Weathering during the Latest Paleocene and Earliest Eocene: The Record at Mead Stream, New Zealand, J. Geol., 120, 487–505, https://doi.org/10.1086/666743, 2012.
Sluijs, A., Brinkhuis, H., Schouten, S., Bohaty, S. M., John, C. M., Zachos, J. C., Reichart, G.-J., Sinninghe Damsté, J. S., Crouch, E. M., and Dickens, G. R.: Environmental precursors to rapid light carbon injection at the Palaeocene/Eocene boundary, Nature, 450, 1218–1221, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06400, 2007.
Stap, L., Sluijs, A., Thomas, E., and Lourens, L. J.: Patterns and magnitude of deep sea carbonate dissolution during Eocene Thermal Maximum 2 and H2, Walvis Ridge, southeastern Atlantic Ocean, Paleoceanography, 24, PA1211, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008PA001655, 2009.
Stap, L., Lourens, L. J., Thomas, E., Sluijs, A., Bohaty, S., and Zachos, J. C.: High-resolution deep-sea carbon and oxygen isotope records of Eocene Thermal Maximum 2 and H2, Geology, 38, 607–610, https://doi.org/10.1130/G30777.1, 2010.
Thomas, E. and Shackleton, N. J.: The Paleocene-Eocene benthic foraminiferal extinction and stable isotope anomalies, Geol. Soc. London, Spec. Publ., 101, 401–441, \https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.1996.101.01.20, 1996.
Westerhold, T. and Röhl, U.: High resolution cyclostratigraphy of the early Eocene – new insights into the origin of the Cenozoic cooling trend, Clim. Past, 5, 309–327, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-5-309-2009, 2009.
Westerhold, T., Röhl, U., Laskar, J., Raffi, I., Bowles, J., Lourens, L. J., and Zachos, J. C.: On the duration of magnetochrons C24r and C25n and the timing of early Eocene global warming events: Implications from the Ocean Drilling Program Leg 208 Walvis Ridge depth transect, Paleoceanography, 22, PA2201, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006PA001322, 2007.
Westerhold, T., Röhl, U., Raffi, I., Fornaciari, E., Monechi, S., Reale, V., Bowles, J., and Evans, H. F.: Astronomical calibration of the Paleocene time, Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol., 257, 377–403, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2007.09.016, 2008.
Zachos, J. C., Pagani, M., Sloan, L., Thomas, E., and Billups, K.: Trends, rhythms, and aberrations in global climate 65 Ma to present, Science, 292, 686–693, 2001a.
Zachos, J. C., Kroon, D., and Blum, P.: ODP Leg 208: The early Cenozoic extreme climates transect along Walvis Ridge, Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program Initial Reports, 208 pp., 2004.
Zachos, J. C., Röhl, U., Schellenberg, S. A., Sluijs, A., Hodell, D. A., Kelly, D. C., Thomas, E., Nicolo, M., Raffi, I., Lourens, L. J., McCarren, H., and Kroon, D.: Rapid acidification of the ocean during the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum, Science, 308, 1611–1615, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1109004, 2005.
Zachos, J. C., Dickens, G. R., and Zeebe, R. E.: An early Cenozoic perspective on greenhouse warming and carbon-cycle dynamics, Nature, 451, 279–283, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06588, 2008.
Zachos, J. C., McCarren, H., Murphy, B., Röhl, U. and Westerhold, T.: Tempo and scale of late Paleocene and early Eocene carbon isotope cycles: Implications for the origin of hyperthermals, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 299, 242–249, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2010.09.004, 2010.
Zeebe, R. E. and Zachos, J. C.: Long-term legacy of massive carbon input to the Earth system: Anthropocene versus Eocene, Philos. Trans. A. Math. Phys. Eng. Sci., 371, 20120006, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2012.0006, 2013.
Short summary
Several episodes of global warming took place during greenhouse conditions in the early Eocene and are recorded in deep-sea sediments. The stable carbon and oxygen isotope records are used to investigate the magnitude of six of these events describing their effects on the global carbon cycle and the associated temperature response. Findings indicate that these events share a common nature and hint to the presence of multiple sources of carbon release.
Several episodes of global warming took place during greenhouse conditions in the early Eocene...
Special issue