Articles | Volume 13, issue 9
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1129-2017
© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1129-2017
© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article
| Highlight paper
| 
11 Sep 2017
Research article | Highlight paper |
| 11 Sep 2017
Astronomical calibration of the Ypresian timescale: implications for seafloor spreading rates and the chaotic behavior of the solar system?
MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of
Bremen, Leobener Straße, 28359 Bremen, Germany
Ursula Röhl
MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of
Bremen, Leobener Straße, 28359 Bremen, Germany
Thomas Frederichs
Faculty 5 Geosciences, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany
Claudia Agnini
Dipartimento di Geoscienze, Università degli Studi di Padova, via G.
Gradenigo 6, 35131 Padua, Italy
Isabella Raffi
Dipartimento di Ingegneria e Geologia (InGeo) – CeRSGeo, Universitaà
degli Studi “G. d'Annunzio” Chieti-Pescara, via dei Vestini 31, 66013
Chieti-Pescara, Italy
James C. Zachos
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California
Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
Roy H. Wilkens
Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawai'i,
Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
Related authors
Irene Peñalver-Clavel, Thomas Westerhold, and Laia Alegret
J. Micropalaeontol., 44, 713–731, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-44-713-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-44-713-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
A study in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean (Ocean Drilling Program Site 1260) reveals the deep-sea biotic response to a middle Eocene warming event 41.52 million years ago. Low-diversity benthic foraminiferal assemblages indicate environmental stress during the warming event. We argue that the biotic response in the deep sea and carbonate dissolution at this site were likely related to its paleoceanographic setting.
Julia de Entrambasaguas, Thomas Westerhold, Heather L. Jones, and Laia Alegret
J. Micropalaeontol., 43, 303–322, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-43-303-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-43-303-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The Gulf Stream plays a crucial role in the ocean stability and climate regulation of the Northern Hemisphere. By analysing the fossil microorganisms that lived in the water column and the ocean floor, as well as reconstructing the ancient ocean's biogeochemistry, we were able to trace longitudinal shifts in the Gulf Stream during the late Eocene (36 Ma). Our results provide insight into the Gulf Stream's behaviour and the NW Atlantic's palaeoceanography during the Late Eocene (ca. 36 Ma).
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.
Pauline Cornuault, Thomas Westerhold, Heiko Pälike, Torsten Bickert, Karl-Heinz Baumann, and Michal Kucera
Biogeosciences, 20, 597–618, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-597-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-597-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We generated high-resolution records of carbonate accumulation rate from the Miocene to the Quaternary in the tropical Atlantic Ocean to characterize the variability in pelagic carbonate production during warm climates. It follows orbital cycles, responding to local changes in tropical conditions, as well as to long-term shifts in climate and ocean chemistry. These changes were sufficiently large to play a role in the carbon cycle and global climate evolution.
Ji-Eun Kim, Thomas Westerhold, Laia Alegret, Anna Joy Drury, Ursula Röhl, and Elizabeth M. Griffith
Clim. Past, 18, 2631–2641, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-2631-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-2631-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This study attempts to gain a better understanding of the marine biological carbon pump and ecosystem functioning under warmer-than-today conditions. Our records from marine sediments show the Pacific tropical marine biological carbon pump was driven by variations in seasonal insolation in the tropics during the Late Cretaceous and may play a key role in modulating climate and the carbon cycle globally in the future.
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.
Annalisa Capasso, Claudia Agnini, Ilaria D'Aniello, Giacomo De Angelis, Maria G. Marin, Marco Munari, Simone Rocca, and Valerio Matozzo
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4016, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4016, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
We studied how ocean acidification affects marine shells by comparing mussels and snails in laboratories and natural volcanic vents. In controlled settings, shell chemistry directly tracked water acidity. However, in complex natural environments, the animals' metabolism and food availability overrode this chemical signal, showing unexpected resilience. This demonstrates that laboratory studies can underestimate how marine life responds to changing oceans, highlighting the value of nature.
Irene Peñalver-Clavel, Thomas Westerhold, and Laia Alegret
J. Micropalaeontol., 44, 713–731, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-44-713-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-44-713-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
A study in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean (Ocean Drilling Program Site 1260) reveals the deep-sea biotic response to a middle Eocene warming event 41.52 million years ago. Low-diversity benthic foraminiferal assemblages indicate environmental stress during the warming event. We argue that the biotic response in the deep sea and carbonate dissolution at this site were likely related to its paleoceanographic setting.
Julia de Entrambasaguas, Thomas Westerhold, Heather L. Jones, and Laia Alegret
J. Micropalaeontol., 43, 303–322, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-43-303-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-43-303-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The Gulf Stream plays a crucial role in the ocean stability and climate regulation of the Northern Hemisphere. By analysing the fossil microorganisms that lived in the water column and the ocean floor, as well as reconstructing the ancient ocean's biogeochemistry, we were able to trace longitudinal shifts in the Gulf Stream during the late Eocene (36 Ma). Our results provide insight into the Gulf Stream's behaviour and the NW Atlantic's palaeoceanography during the Late Eocene (ca. 36 Ma).
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.
Chris D. Fokkema, Tobias Agterhuis, Danielle Gerritsma, Myrthe de Goeij, Xiaoqing Liu, Pauline de Regt, Addison Rice, Laurens Vennema, Claudia Agnini, Peter K. Bijl, Joost Frieling, Matthew Huber, Francien Peterse, and Appy Sluijs
Clim. Past, 20, 1303–1325, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1303-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1303-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Polar amplification (PA) is a key uncertainty in climate projections. The factors that dominantly control PA are difficult to separate. Here we provide an estimate for the non-ice-related PA by reconstructing tropical ocean temperature variability from the ice-free early Eocene, which we compare to deep-ocean-derived high-latitude temperature variability across short-lived warming periods. We find a PA factor of 1.7–2.3 on 20 kyr timescales, which is somewhat larger than model estimates.
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.
Maria Elena Gastaldello, Claudia Agnini, and Laia Alegret
J. Micropalaeontol., 43, 1–35, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-43-1-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-43-1-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This paper examines benthic foraminifera, single-celled organisms, at Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Site U1506 in the Tasman Sea from the Late Miocene to the Early Pliocene (between 7.4 to 4.5 million years ago). We described and illustrated the 36 most common species; analysed the past ocean depth of the site; and investigated the environmental conditions at the seafloor during the Biogenic Bloom phenomenon, a global phase of high marine primary productivity.
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.
Pauline Cornuault, Thomas Westerhold, Heiko Pälike, Torsten Bickert, Karl-Heinz Baumann, and Michal Kucera
Biogeosciences, 20, 597–618, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-597-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-597-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We generated high-resolution records of carbonate accumulation rate from the Miocene to the Quaternary in the tropical Atlantic Ocean to characterize the variability in pelagic carbonate production during warm climates. It follows orbital cycles, responding to local changes in tropical conditions, as well as to long-term shifts in climate and ocean chemistry. These changes were sufficiently large to play a role in the carbon cycle and global climate evolution.
Ji-Eun Kim, Thomas Westerhold, Laia Alegret, Anna Joy Drury, Ursula Röhl, and Elizabeth M. Griffith
Clim. Past, 18, 2631–2641, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-2631-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-2631-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This study attempts to gain a better understanding of the marine biological carbon pump and ecosystem functioning under warmer-than-today conditions. Our records from marine sediments show the Pacific tropical marine biological carbon pump was driven by variations in seasonal insolation in the tropics during the Late Cretaceous and may play a key role in modulating climate and the carbon cycle globally in the future.
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.
Cited articles
Agnini, C., Fornaciari, E., Raffi, I., Rio, D., Röhl, U., and Westerhold, T.: High-resolution nannofossil biochronology of middle Paleocene to early Eocene at ODP Site 1262: Implications for calcareous nannoplankton evolution, Marine Micropaleontol., 64, 215–248, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marmicro.2007.05.003, 2007.
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.
Agnini, C., Fornaciari, E., Raffi, I., Catanzariti, R., Pälike, H., Backman, J., and Rio, D.: Biozonation and biochronology of Paleogene calcareous nannofossils from low and middle latitudes, Newsl. Stratigr., 47, 131–181, https://doi.org/10.1127/0078-0421/2014/0042, 2014.
Aubry, M. P., Ouda, K., Dupuis, C., Berggren, W. A., Van Couvering, J. A., and the Members of the Working Group on the Paleocene/Eocene Boundary: The Global Standard Stratotype-section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Eocene Series in the Dababiya section (Egypt), Episodes, 30, 271–286, 2007.
Backman, J. and Shackleton, N. J.: Quantitative biochonology of Pliocene and early Pleistocene calcareous nannofossils from the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Mar. Micropaleontol., 8, 141–170, 1983.
Bernaola, G., Orue-Etxebarria, X., Payros, A., Dinarès-Turell, J., Tosquella, J., Estibaliz, A., and Caballero, F.: Biomagnetostratigraphy analysis of the Gorrondatx section (Basque Country, Western Pyrenees): Its significance for the definition of the Ypresian/Lutetian boundary stratotype, N. Jb. Geol. Paläont. Abh., 241, 67–109, 2006.
Bown, P. R. Young, J. R.: Techniques, in: Calcareous Nannofossil Biostratigraphy, edited by: Bown, P. R., Kluwer Academic, London, 16–28, 1998.
Broecker, W. S. and Peng, T. H.: Tracers in the Sea, University, C., Lamont Doherty Geol. Obs. Publications, New York, 689 pp., 1982.
Cande, S. C. and Kent, D. V.: A New Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale for the late Cretaceous and Cenozoic, J. Geophys. Res., 97, 13917–13951, 1992.
Cande, S. C. and Kent, D. V.: Revised calibration of the geomagnetic polarity timescale for the Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic, J. Geophys. Res., 100, 6093–6095, 1995.
Clyde, W. C., Hamzi, W., Finarelli, J. A., Wing, S. L., Schankler, D., and Chew, A.: Basin-wide magnetostratigraphic framework for the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, GSA Bulletin, 119, 848–859, 2007.
Cramer, B. S., Wright, J. D., Kent, D. V., and Aubry, M.-P.: Orbital climate forcing of δ13C excursions in the late Paleocene – Eocene (chrons C24n–C25n), Paleoceanography, 18, 1097, https://doi.org/10.1029/2003PA000909, 2003.
Dickens, G. R.: Rethinking the global carbon cycle with a large, dynamic and microbially mediated gas hydrate capacitor, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 213, 169–183, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0012-821X(03)00325-X, 2003.
Erbacher, J., Mosher, D. C., Malone, M. J., and et al.: Proc. ODP, Init. Repts., 207: College Station, TX, Ocean Drilling Program, 2004.
Fienga, A., Manche, H., Laskar, J., and Gastineau, M.: INPOP06: a new numerical planetary ephemeris, Astron. Astrophys., 477, 315–327, https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20066607, 2008.
Fienga, A., Laskar, J., Morley, T., Manche, H., Kuchynka, P., Le Poncin-Lafitte, C., Budnik, F., Gastineau, M., and Somenzi, L.: INPOP08, a 4-D planetary ephemeris: from asteroid and time-scale computations to ESA Mars Express and Venus Express contributions, Astron. Astrophys., 507, 1675–1686, https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/200911755, 2009.
Fienga, A., Laskar, J., Kuchynka, P., Manche, H., Desvignes, G., Gastineau, M., Cognard, I., and Theureau, G.: The INPOP10a planetary ephemeris and its applications in fundamental physics, Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy, 111, 363–385, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10569-011-9377-8, 2011.
Galeotti, S., Krishnan, S., Pagani, M., Lanci, L., Gaudio, A., Zachos, J. C., Monechi, S., Morelli, G., and Lourens, L.: Orbital chronology of Early Eocene hyperthermals from the Contessa Road section, central Italy, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 290, 192–200, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2009.12.021, 2010.
Gingerich, P. D.: Mammalian responses to climate change at the Paleocene-Eocene boundary: Polecat Bench record in the northern Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, in: Causes and Consequences of Globally Warm Climates in the Early Paleogene, edited by: Wing, S. L., Gingerich, P. D., Schmitz, B., and Thomas, E., Geological Society of America Special Paper, Geological Society of America, Boulder, Colorado, 463–478, 2003.
Hilgen, F. J., Hinnov, L. A., Abdul Aziz, H., Abels, H. A., Batenburg, S., Bosmans, J. H. C., de Boer, B., Hüsing, S. K., Kuiper, K. F., Lourens, L. J., Rivera, T., Tuenter, E., Van de Wal, R. S. W., Wotzlaw, J.-F., and Zeeden, C.: Stratigraphic continuity and fragmentary sedimentation: the success of cyclostratigraphy as part of integrated stratigraphy, Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 404, 157–197, https://doi.org/10.1144/sp404.12, 2014.
Hinnov, L. A.: New Perspectives on Orbitally Forced Stratigraphy, Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sc., 28, 419–475, 2000.
Hinnov, L. A.: Cyclostratigraphy and its revolutionizing applications in the earth and planetary sciences, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 125, 1703–1734, 10.1130/b30934.1, 2013.
Ishizuka, O., Tani, K., Reagan, M. K., Kanayama, K., Umino, S., Harigane, Y., Sakamoto, I., Miyajima, Y., Yuasa, M., and Dunkley, D. J.: The timescales of subduction initiation and subsequent evolution of an oceanic island arc, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 306, 229–240, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2011.04.006, 2011.
Jovane, L., Sprovieri, M., Coccioni, R., Florindo, F., Marsili, A., and Laskar, J.: Astronomical calibration of the middle Eocene Contessa Highway section (Gubbio, Italy), Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 298, 77–88, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2010.07.027, 2010.
Kirschvink, J. L.: The least-squares line and plane and the analysis of paleomagnetic data, Geophys. J. Roy. Astron. Soc., 62, 699–718, 1980.
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., 7, 748–751, 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.
Laskar, J.: A numerical experiment on the chaotic behaviour of the Solar System, Nature, 338, 237–238, 1989.
Laskar, J.: The limits of Earth orbital calculations for geological time-scale use, Philos. T. R. Soc. Lond., 357, 1735–1759, 1999.
Laskar, J., Joutel, F., and Boudin, F.: Orbital, precessional, and insolation quantities for the earth from −20 Myr to +10 Myr, Astron. Astrophys., 270, 522–533, 1993.
Laskar, J., Robutel, P., Joutel, F., Gastineau, M., Correia, A., and Levrard, B.: A long-term numerical solution for the insolation quantities of the Earth, Astron. Astrophys., 428, 261–285, https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20041335, 2004.
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, A89, https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201116836, 2011a.
Laskar, J., Gastineau, M., Delisle, J. B., Farrés, A., and Fienga, A.: Strong chaos induced by close encounters with Ceres and Vesta, Astron. Astrophys., 532, L4, https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201117504, 2011b.
Laurin, J., Meyers, S. R., Galeotti, S., and Lanci, L.: Frequency modulation reveals the phasing of orbital eccentricity during Cretaceous Oceanic Anoxic Event II and the Eocene hyperthermals, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 442, 143–156, 2016.
Lauretano, V., Littler, K., Polling, M., Zachos, J. C., and Lourens, L. J.: Frequency, magnitude and character of hyperthermal events at the onset of the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum, Clim. Past, 11, 1313–1324, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1313-2015, 2015.
Lauretano, V., Hilgen, F. J., Zachos, J. C., and Lourens, L. J.: Astronomically tuned age model for the early Eocene carbon isotope events: A new high-resolution δ13C benthic record of ODP Site 1263 between ∼ 49 and ∼ 54 Ma, Newsl. Stratigr., 49, 383–400, https://doi.org/10.1127/nos/2016/0077, 2016.
Leon-Rodriguez, L. and Dickens, G. R.: Constraints on ocean acidification associated with rapid and massive carbon injections: The early Paleogene record at ocean drilling program site 1215, equatorial Pacific Ocean, Palaeogeogr. Palaeocl., 298, 409–420, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2010.10.029, 2010.
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. Sc. 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., Ridgwell, A., Sluijs, A., Zachos, J., 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.
Ma, C., Meyers, S. R., and Sageman, B. B.: Theory of chaotic orbital variations confirmed by Cretaceous geological evidence, Nature, 542, 468–470, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature21402, 2017.
Machlus, M. L., Ramezani, J., Bowring, S. A., Hemming, S. R., Tsukui, K., and Clyde, W. C.: A strategy for cross-calibrating U–Pb chronology and astrochronology of sedimentary sequences: An example from the Green River Formation, Wyoming, USA, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 413, 70–78, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2014.12.009, 2015.
Martini, E.: Standard Tertiary and Quaternary calcareous nannoplankton zonation, in: Proceedings of the Second Planktonic Conference, edited by: Farinacci, A., Roma 1970, 2. Edizioni Tecnoscienza, Rome, 739–785, 1971.
McCarren, H., Thomas, E., Hasegawa, T., Röhl, U., and Zachos, J. C.: Depth dependency of the Paleocene-Eocene carbon isotope excursion: Paired benthic and terrestrial biomarker records (Ocean Drilling Program Leg 208, Walvis Ridge), Geochem. Geophy. Geosy., 9, Q10008, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GC002116, 2008.
Meinshausen, M., Smith, S. J., Calvin, K., Daniel, J. S., Kainuma, M. L. T., Lamarque, J. F., Matsumoto, K., Montzka, S. A., Raper, S. C. B., Riahi, K., Thomson, A., Velders, G. J. M., and Vuuren, D. P. P.: The RCP greenhouse gas concentrations and their extensions from 1765 to 2300, Climatic Change, 109, 213–241, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-011-0156-z, 2011.
Meyers, S. R.: Astrochron: An R Package for Astrochronology, available at: https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=astrochron (last access: 5 September 2017), 2014.
Meyers, S. R.: The evaluation of eccentricity-related amplitude modulation and bundling in paleoclimate data: An inverse approach for astrochronologic testing and time scale optimization, Paleoceanography, 30, 1625–1640, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015PA002850, 2015.
Molina, E., Alegret, L., Apellaniz, E., Bernaola, G., Caballero, F., Dinarès-Turell, J., Hardenbol, J., Heilmann-Clausen, C., Larrasoana, J. C., Luterbacher, H., Monechi, S., Ortiz, S., Orue-Etxebarria, X., Payros, A., Pujalte, V., Rodriguez-Tovar, F. J., Tori, F., Tosquella, J., and Uchman, A.: The Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Lutetian Stage at the Gorrondatxe section, Spain, Episodes, 34, 86–108, 2011.
Norris, R. D., Wilson, P. A., Blum, P., Fehr, A., Agnini, C., Bornemann, A., Boulila, S., Bown, P. R., Cournede, C., Friedrich, O., Ghosh, A. K., Hollis, C. J., Hull, P. M., Jo, K., Junium, C. K., Kaneko, M., Liebrand, D., Lippert, P. C., Liu, Z., Matsui, H., Moriya, K., Nishi, H., Opdyke, B. N., Penman, D., Romans, B., Scher, H. D., Sexton, P., Takagi, H., Turner, S. K., Whiteside, J. H., Yamaguchi, T., and Yamamoto, Y.: Site U1410, Proceedings IODP, 342, 1–87, https://doi.org/10.2204/iodp.proc.342.101.2014, 2014.
O'Connor, J. M., Steinberger, B., Regelous, M., Koppers, A. A. P., Wijbrans, J. R., Haase, K. M., Stoffers, P., Jokat, W., and Garbe-Schönberg, D.: Constraints on past plate and mantle motion from new ages for the Hawaiian-Emperor Seamount Chain, Geochem. Geophy. Geosy., 14, 4564–4584, https://doi.org/10.1002/ggge.20267, 2013.
Ogg, J. G.: Chapter 5 – Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale, in: The Geologic Time Scale, edited by: Gradstein, F. M., Ogg, J. G., Schmitz, M. D., and Ogg, G. M., Elsevier, Boston, 85–113, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-59425-9.00005-6, 2012.
Ogg, J. G. and Smith, A. G.: The geomagnetic polarity time scale, in: A Geological Timescale 2004, edited by: Gradstein, F., Ogg, J., and Smith, A., Cambridge University Press, 63–86, 2004.
Okada, H. and Bukry, D.: Supplementary modification and introduction of code numbers to the low-latitude coccolith biostratigraphic zonation (Bukry 1973, 1975), Marine Micropaleontol., 5, 321–325, 1980.
Pagani, M., Caldeira, K., Archer, D., and Zachos, J. C.: An Ancient Carbon Mystery, Science, 314, 1556–1557, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1136110, 2006.
Pälike, H., Laskar, J., and Shackleton, N. J.: Geologic constraints on the chaotic diffusion of the solar system, Geology, 32, 929–932, https://doi.org/10.1130/G20750.1, 2004.
Payros, A., Orue-Etxebarria, X., Bernaola, G., Apellaniz, E., Dinarès-Turell, J., Tosquella, J., and Caballero, F.: Characterization and astronomically calibrated age of the first occurrence of Turborotalia frontosa in the Gorrondatxe section, a prospective Lutetian GSSP: implications for the Eocene time scale, Lethaia, 42, 255–264, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1502-3931.2008.00142.x, 2009.
Perch-Nielsen, K.: Cenozoic calcareous nannofossils, in: Plankton Stratigraphy, edited by: Bolli, H. M., Saunders, J. B., and Perch-Nielsen, K., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 427–554, 1985.
Röhl, U., Westerhold, T., Bralower, T. J., and Zachos, J. C.: On the duration of the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM), Geochem. Geophy. Geosy., 8, Q12002, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007GC001784, 2007.
Schulz, M., Berger, W. H., Sarnthein, M., and Grootes, P. M.: Amplitude variations of 1470-year climate oscillations during the last 100,000 years linked to fluctuations of continental ice mass, Geophys. Res. Lett., 26, 3385–3388, 1999.
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 Crowhurst, S.: Sediment Fluxes based on an Orbitally Tuned Time Scale 5 to 14 Ma, Site 926, in: Proc. ODP, Sci. Results, 154, College Station, TX (Ocean Drilling Program), edited by: Shackleton, N. J., Curry, W. B., Richter, C., and Bralower, T. J., 69–82, https://doi.org/10.2973/odp.proc.sr.154.102.1997, 1997.
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, 2012.
Smith, M. E., Chamberlain, K. R., Singer, B. S., and Carroll, A. R.: Eocene clocks agree: Coeval 40Ar/39Ar, U-Pb, and astronomical ages from the Green River Formation, Geology, 38, 527–530, https://doi.org/10.1130/g30630.1, 2010.
Smith, M. E., Carroll, A. R., Scott, J. J., and Singer, B. S.: Early Eocene carbon isotope excursions and landscape destabilization at eccentricity minima: Green River Formation of Wyoming, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 403, 393–406, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2014.06.024, 2014.
Stap, L., Sluijs, A., Thomas, E., and Lourens, L.: 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.
Suganuma, Y. and Ogg, J. G.: Campanian through Eocene magnetostratigraphy of Sites 1257–1261, ODP Leg 207, Demerara Rise (western equatorial Atlantic), in: Proc. ODP, Sci. Results, 207, College Station, TX (Ocean Drilling Program), edited by: Mosher, D. C., Erbacher, J., and Malone, M. J., 1–48, https://doi.org/10.2973/odp.proc.sr.207.102.2006, 2006.
Thomas, E. and Shackelton, N. J.: The Paleocene-Eocene benthic foraminiferal extinctio and stable isotope anomalies, in: Correlation of the Early Paleogene in Northwest Europe, edited by: Knox, R. W. O. B., Corfield, R. M., and Dunay, R. E., Geological Society Special Publication, 401–441, 1996.
Tsukui, K. and Clyde, W. C.: Fine-tuning the calibration of the early to middle Eocene geomagnetic polarity time scale: Paleomagnetism of radioisotopically dated tuffs from Laramide foreland basins, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 124, 870–885, https://doi.org/10.1130/b30545.1, 2012.
Vandenberghe, N., Hilgen, F. J., Speijer, R. P., Ogg, J. G., Gradstein, F. M., Hammer, O., Hollis, C. J., and Hooker, J. J.: Chapter 28 – The Paleogene Period, in: The Geologic Time Scale, edited by: Gradstein, F. M., Ogg, J. G., Schmitz, M. D., and Ogg, G. M., Elsevier, Boston, 855–921, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-59425-9.00028-7, 2012.
Wade, B. S. and Pälike, H.: Oligocene climate dynamics, Paleoceanography, 19, PA4019, https://doi.org/10.1029/2004PA001042, 2004.
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. and Röhl, U.: Orbital pacing of Eocene climate during the Middle Eocene Climate Optimum and the Chron C19r event: Missing link found in the tropical western Atlantic, Geochem. Geophy. Geosy., 14, 4811–4825, 10.1002/ggge.20293, 2013.
Westerhold, T., Röhl, U., Laskar, J., Bowles, J., Raffi, I., 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., and Laskar, J.: Time scale controversy: Accurate orbital calibration of the early Paleogene, Geochem. Geophy. Geosy., 13, Q06015, https://doi.org/10.1029/2012gc004096, 2012.
Westerhold, T., Röhl, U., Pälike, H., Wilkens, R., Wilson, P. A., and Acton, G.: Orbitally tuned timescale and astronomical forcing in the middle Eocene to early Oligocene, Clim. Past, 10, 955–973, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-955-2014, 2014.
Westerhold, T., Röhl, U., Frederichs, T., Bohaty, S. M., and Zachos, J. C.: Astronomical calibration of the geological timescale: closing the middle Eocene gap, Clim. Past, 11, 1181–1195, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1181-2015, 2015.
Westerhold, T., Röhl, U., Frederichs, T., Agnini, C., Raffi, I., Zachos, J. C., and Wilkens, R. H.: Astronomical Calibration of the Ypresian Time Scale, PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.871246, 2017.
Whittaker, J. M., Müller, R. D., Leitchenkov, G., Stagg, H., Sdrolias, M., Gaina, C., and Goncharov, A.: Major Australian-Antarctic Plate Reorganization at Hawaiian-Emperor Bend Time, Science, 318, 83–86, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1143769, 2007.
Wilkens, R. H., Westerhold, T., Drury, A. J., Lyle, M., Gorgas, T., and Tian, J.: Revisiting the Ceara Rise, equatorial Atlantic Ocean: isotope stratigraphy of ODP Leg 154 from 0 to 5 Ma, Clim. Past, 13, 779–793, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-779-2017, 2017.
Zachos, J. C., Kroon, D., Blum, P., and et al.: Proc. ODP, Init. Repts., 208, College Station, TX, Ocean Drilling Program, 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. Sc. Lett., 299, 242–249, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2010.09.004, 2010.
Zeebe, R. E., Westerhold, T., Littler, K., and Zachos, J. C.: Orbital forcing of the Paleocene and Eocene carbon cycle, Paleoceanography, 32, 440–465, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016PA003054, 2017.
Zeeden, C., Hilgen, F., Westerhold, T., Lourens, L., Röhl, U., and Bickert, T.: Revised Miocene splice, astronomical tuning and calcareous plankton biochronology of ODP Site 926 between 5 and 14.4 Ma, Palaeogeogr. Palaeocl., 369, 430–451, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2012.11.009, 2013.
Zeeden, C., Hilgen, F. J., Hüsing, S. K., and Lourens, L. L.: The Miocene astronomical time scale 9–12 Ma: New constraints on tidal dissipation and their implications for paleoclimatic investigations, Paleoceanography, 29, 296–307, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014PA002615, 2014.
Zeeden, C., Meyers, S. R., Lourens, L. J., and Hilgen, F. J.: Testing astronomically tuned age models, Paleoceanography, 30, 369–383, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014PA002762, 2015.
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.
We assembled a very accurate geological timescale from the interval 47.8 to 56.0 million years...
