Articles | Volume 17, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-229-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-229-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
18 Jan 2021
Research article |
| 18 Jan 2021
| 18 Jan 2021
Exploring a link between the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum and Neotethys continental arc flare-up
Annique van der Boon
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Princetonlaan 8a, 3584 CB Utrecht, the Netherlands
now at: Geomagnetic Laboratory, Oliver Lodge Building, Department of Physics, Oxford Street, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7ZE, UK
Klaudia F. Kuiper
Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Robin van der Ploeg
Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Princetonlaan 8a, 3584 CB Utrecht, the Netherlands
now at: Shell Global Solutions International B.V., Grasweg 31, 1031 HW Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Marlow Julius Cramwinckel
Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Princetonlaan 8a, 3584 CB Utrecht, the Netherlands
now at: National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton Waterfront Campus, European Way, Southampton, SO14 3ZH, UK
Maryam Honarmand
Department of Earth Sciences, Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences (IASBS), P.O. Box 45195-1159, Zanjan, Iran
Appy Sluijs
Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Princetonlaan 8a, 3584 CB Utrecht, the Netherlands
Wout Krijgsman
Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Princetonlaan 8a, 3584 CB Utrecht, the Netherlands
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Gerrit Müller, Jack J. Middelburg, and Appy Sluijs
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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
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Sabrina van de Velde, Elisabeth L. Jorissen, Thomas A. Neubauer, Silviu Radan, Ana Bianca Pavel, Marius Stoica, Christiaan G. C. Van Baak, Alberto Martínez Gándara, Luis Popa, Henko de Stigter, Hemmo A. Abels, Wout Krijgsman, and Frank P. Wesselingh
Biogeosciences, 16, 2423–2442, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2423-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2423-2019, 2019
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Clim. Past, 15, 91–104, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-91-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-91-2019, 2019
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Revised manuscript not accepted
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Helen M. Beddow, Diederik Liebrand, Douglas S. Wilson, Frits J. Hilgen, Appy Sluijs, Bridget S. Wade, and Lucas J. Lourens
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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.
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
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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.
Michiel Baatsen, Douwe J. J. van Hinsbergen, Anna S. von der Heydt, Henk A. Dijkstra, Appy Sluijs, Hemmo A. Abels, and Peter K. Bijl
Clim. Past, 12, 1635–1644, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1635-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1635-2016, 2016
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One of the major difficulties in modelling palaeoclimate is constricting the boundary conditions, causing significant discrepancies between different studies. Here, a new method is presented to automate much of the process of generating the necessary geographical reconstructions. The latter can be made using various rotational frameworks and topography/bathymetry input, allowing for easy inter-comparisons and the incorporation of the latest insights from geoscientific research.
Niels A. G. M. van Helmond, Appy Sluijs, Nina M. Papadomanolaki, A. Guy Plint, Darren R. Gröcke, Martin A. Pearce, James S. Eldrett, João Trabucho-Alexandre, Ireneusz Walaszczyk, Bas van de Schootbrugge, and Henk Brinkhuis
Biogeosciences, 13, 2859–2872, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-2859-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-2859-2016, 2016
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Over the past decades large changes have been observed in the biogeographical dispersion of marine life resulting from climate change. To better understand present and future trends it is important to document and fully understand the biogeographical response of marine life during episodes of environmental change in the geological past.
Here we investigate the response of phytoplankton, the base of the marine food web, to a rapid cold spell, interrupting greenhouse conditions during the Cretaceous.
N. A. G. M. van Helmond, A. Sluijs, J. S. Sinninghe Damsté, G.-J. Reichart, S. Voigt, J. Erbacher, J. Pross, and H. Brinkhuis
Clim. Past, 11, 495–508, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-495-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-495-2015, 2015
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Based on the chemistry and microfossils preserved in sediments deposited in a shallow sea, in the current Lower Saxony region (NW Germany), we conclude that changes in Earth’s orbit around the Sun led to enhanced rainfall and organic matter production. The additional supply of organic matter, depleting oxygen upon degradation, and freshwater, inhibiting the mixing of oxygen-rich surface waters with deeper waters, caused the development of oxygen-poor waters about 94 million years ago.
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
A. Sluijs, L. van Roij, G. J. Harrington, S. Schouten, J. A. Sessa, L. J. LeVay, G.-J. Reichart, and C. P. Slomp
Clim. Past, 10, 1421–1439, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1421-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1421-2014, 2014
L. Contreras, J. Pross, P. K. Bijl, R. B. O'Hara, J. I. Raine, A. Sluijs, and H. Brinkhuis
Clim. Past, 10, 1401–1420, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1401-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1401-2014, 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
I. G. M. Wientjes, R. S. W. Van de Wal, G. J. Reichart, A. Sluijs, and J. Oerlemans
The Cryosphere, 5, 589–601, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-5-589-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-5-589-2011, 2011
Related subject area
Subject: Carbon Cycle | Archive: Terrestrial Archives | Timescale: Cenozoic
Alluvial record of an early Eocene hyperthermal within the Castissent Formation, the Pyrenees, Spain
Paleoenvironmental response of midlatitudinal wetlands to Paleocene–early Eocene climate change (Schöningen lignite deposits, Germany)
Synchronizing early Eocene deep-sea and continental records – cyclostratigraphic age models for the Bighorn Basin Coring Project drill cores
Environmental impact and magnitude of paleosol carbonate carbon isotope excursions marking five early Eocene hyperthermals in the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming
Fossil plant stomata indicate decreasing atmospheric CO2 prior to the Eocene–Oligocene boundary
Modulation of Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic climate by variable drawdown of atmospheric pCO2 from weathering of basaltic provinces on continents drifting through the equatorial humid belt
Louis Honegger, Thierry Adatte, Jorge E. Spangenberg, Jeremy K. Caves Rugenstein, Miquel Poyatos-Moré, Cai Puigdefàbregas, Emmanuelle Chanvry, Julian Clark, Andrea Fildani, Eric Verrechia, Kalin Kouzmanov, Matthieu Harlaux, and Sébastien Castelltort
Clim. Past, 16, 227–243, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-227-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-227-2020, 2020
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A geochemical study of a continental section reveals a rapid global warming event (hyperthermal U), occurring ca. 50 Myr ago, only described until now in marine sediment cores. Documenting how the Earth system responded to rapid climatic shifts provides fundamental information to constrain climatic models. Our results suggest that continental deposits can be high-resolution recorders of these warmings. They also give an insight on the climatic conditions occurring during at the time.
Katharina Methner, Olaf Lenz, Walter Riegel, Volker Wilde, and Andreas Mulch
Clim. Past, 15, 1741–1755, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1741-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1741-2019, 2019
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We describe the presence of a carbon isotope excursion (CIE) in Paleogene lignites (Schöningen, DE) and assess paleoenvironmental changes in midlatitudinal late Paleocene–early Eocene peat mire records along the paleo-North Sea coast (Schöningen, Cobham, Vasterival). These records share major characteristics of a reduced CIE (~ -1.3 ‰) in terms of bulk organic matter, increased fire activity (pre-CIE), minor plant species changes, and drowning of near-coastal mires during the CIE.
Thomas Westerhold, Ursula Röhl, Roy H. Wilkens, Philip D. Gingerich, William C. Clyde, Scott L. Wing, Gabriel J. Bowen, and Mary J. Kraus
Clim. Past, 14, 303–319, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-303-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-303-2018, 2018
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Here we present a high-resolution timescale synchronization of continental and marine deposits for one of the most pronounced global warming events, the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum, which occurred 56 million years ago. New high-resolution age models for the Bighorn Basin Coring Project (BBCP) drill cores help to improve age models for climate records from deep-sea drill cores and for the first time point to a concurrent major change in marine and terrestrial biota 54.25 million years ago.
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
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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.
Margret Steinthorsdottir, Amanda S. Porter, Aidan Holohan, Lutz Kunzmann, Margaret Collinson, and Jennifer C. McElwain
Clim. Past, 12, 439–454, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-439-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-439-2016, 2016
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Our manuscript "Fossil plant stomata indicate decreasing atmospheric CO2 prior to the Eocene–Oligocene boundary" reports that ~ 40 % decrease in pCO2 preceded the large shift in marine oxygen isotope records that characterizes the Eocene–Oliogocene climate transition. The results endorse the theory that pCO2 drawdown was the main forcer of the Eocene–Oligocene climate change, and a "tipping point" was reached in the latest Eocene, triggering the plunge of the Earth System into icehouse conditions.
D. V. Kent and G. Muttoni
Clim. Past, 9, 525–546, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-525-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-525-2013, 2013
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Short summary
40.5 million years ago, Earth's climate warmed, but it is unknown why. Enhanced volcanism has been suggested, but this has not yet been tied to a specific region. We explore an increase in volcanism in Iran. We dated igneous rocks and compiled ages from the literature. We estimated the volume of igneous rocks in Iran in order to calculate the amount of CO2 that could have been released due to enhanced volcanism. We conclude that an increase in volcanism in Iran is a plausible cause of warming.
40.5 million years ago, Earth's climate warmed, but it is unknown why. Enhanced volcanism has...
