Articles | Volume 21, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-1431-2025
© Author(s) 2025. 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-21-1431-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
08 Aug 2025
Research article |
| 08 Aug 2025
| 08 Aug 2025
Biosiliceous and geochemical response to biotic and climatic events in the Palaeocene
Institute of Marine and Environmental Sciences, University of Szczecin, 70-383 Szczecin, Poland
Doctoral School, University of Szczecin, 70-383 Szczecin, Poland
Steve Bohaty
Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
Johan Renaudie
FB1 Dynamik der Natur, Museum für Naturkunde, 10115 Berlin, Germany
Jakub Witkowski
Institute of Marine and Environmental Sciences, University of Szczecin, 70-383 Szczecin, Poland
Related authors
Cécile Figus, Johan Renaudie, Or M. Bialik, and Jakub Witkowski
Biogeosciences, 22, 3029–3046, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-3029-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-3029-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The synthesis of Palaeogene deep-sea diatom-bearing sediment occurrences indicates that the deposition of diatom-bearing sediments is mainly controlled by nutrient availability and ocean circulation in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. Comparison with shallow marine diatomites suggests that the peak in the number of diatom-bearing sites in the Atlantic is indirectly related to tectonic reorganizations that caused the cessation of shallow marine diatomite deposition between ~46 and ~44 Ma.
Cécile Figus, Or M. Bialik, Andrey Y. Gladenkov, Tatyana V. Oreshkina, Johan Renaudie, Pavel Smirnov, and Jakub Witkowski
Clim. Past, 20, 2629–2644, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2629-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2629-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
A global-scale compilation of Palaeogene diatomite occurrences shows how palaeogeographic and palaeoceanographic changes impacted diatom accumulation, especially in the middle Eocene. Diatomite deposition dropped in epicontinental seas between ~ 46 and ~ 44 Ma, while diatom accumulation began around 43.5 Ma in open-ocean settings. The compilation also shows an indirect correlation between Palaeogene climate fluctuations and diatomite deposition in shallow-marine and freshwater environments.
Cécile Figus, Johan Renaudie, Or M. Bialik, and Jakub Witkowski
Biogeosciences, 22, 3029–3046, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-3029-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-3029-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The synthesis of Palaeogene deep-sea diatom-bearing sediment occurrences indicates that the deposition of diatom-bearing sediments is mainly controlled by nutrient availability and ocean circulation in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. Comparison with shallow marine diatomites suggests that the peak in the number of diatom-bearing sites in the Atlantic is indirectly related to tectonic reorganizations that caused the cessation of shallow marine diatomite deposition between ~46 and ~44 Ma.
Johan Renaudie and David B. Lazarus
Biogeosciences, 22, 1929–1946, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1929-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1929-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We provide a new compilation of rates at which sediments deposited in the deep sea over the last 70 million years. We highlight a bias, linked to the drilling process, that makes it more likely for high rates to be recovered for younger sediments than for older ones. Correcting for this bias, the record shows, contrary to prior estimates, a more stable history, thus providing some insights on the past mismatch between physico-chemical model estimates and observations.
Volkan Özen, David Lazarus, Johan Renaudie, and Gabrielle Rodrigues de Faria
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-555, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-555, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We studied diatom fossils from the Southern Ocean to understand how ocean productivity changed ~40–30 million years ago during a major climate shift marked by the onset of permanent Antarctic glaciation and global cooling. We found striking shifts in diatom productivity, revealing critical changes in ocean circulation and nutrient supply. Our results show how these microscopic organisms may have influenced climate, acting as a geological force that shaped global climate over time.
Frida S. Hoem, Karlijn van den Broek, Adrián López-Quirós, Suzanna H. A. van de Lagemaat, Steve M. Bohaty, Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, Robert D. Larter, Tim E. van Peer, Henk Brinkhuis, Francesca Sangiorgi, and Peter K. Bijl
J. Micropalaeontol., 43, 497–517, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-43-497-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-43-497-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The timing and impact of onset of Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) on climate and Antarctic ice are unclear. We reconstruct late Eocene to Miocene southern Atlantic surface ocean environment using microfossil remains of dinoflagellates (dinocysts). Our dinocyst records shows the breakdown of subpolar gyres in the late Oligocene and the transition into a modern-like oceanographic regime with ACC flow, established frontal systems, Antarctic proximal cooling, and sea ice by the late Miocene.
Cécile Figus, Or M. Bialik, Andrey Y. Gladenkov, Tatyana V. Oreshkina, Johan Renaudie, Pavel Smirnov, and Jakub Witkowski
Clim. Past, 20, 2629–2644, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2629-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2629-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
A global-scale compilation of Palaeogene diatomite occurrences shows how palaeogeographic and palaeoceanographic changes impacted diatom accumulation, especially in the middle Eocene. Diatomite deposition dropped in epicontinental seas between ~ 46 and ~ 44 Ma, while diatom accumulation began around 43.5 Ma in open-ocean settings. The compilation also shows an indirect correlation between Palaeogene climate fluctuations and diatomite deposition in shallow-marine and freshwater environments.
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.
Clément Coiffard, Haytham El Atfy, Johan Renaudie, Robert Bussert, and Dieter Uhl
Biogeosciences, 20, 1145–1154, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1145-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1145-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Eighty-million-year-old fossil leaf assemblages suggest a widespread distribution of tropical rainforest in northeastern Africa.
Veronica Carlsson, Taniel Danelian, Pierre Boulet, Philippe Devienne, Aurelien Laforge, and Johan Renaudie
J. Micropalaeontol., 41, 165–182, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-41-165-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-41-165-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This study evaluates the use of automatic classification using AI on eight closely related radiolarian species of the genus Podocyrtis based on MobileNet CNN. Species belonging to Podocyrtis are useful for middle Eocene biostratigraphy. Numerous images of Podocyrtis species from the tropical Atlantic Ocean were used to train and validate the CNN. An overall accuracy of about 91 % was obtained. Additional Podocyrtis specimens from other ocean realms were used to test the predictive model.
Jakub Witkowski, Karolina Bryłka, Steven M. Bohaty, Elżbieta Mydłowska, Donald E. Penman, and Bridget S. Wade
Clim. Past, 17, 1937–1954, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1937-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1937-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We reconstruct the history of biogenic opal accumulation through the early to middle Paleogene in the western North Atlantic. Biogenic opal accumulation was controlled by deepwater temperatures, atmospheric greenhouse gas levels, and continental weathering intensity. Overturning circulation in the Atlantic was established at the end of the extreme early Eocene greenhouse warmth period. We also show that the strength of the link between climate and continental weathering varies through time.
Kirsty M. Edgar, Steven M. Bohaty, Helen K. Coxall, Paul R. Bown, Sietske J. Batenburg, Caroline H. Lear, and Paul N. Pearson
J. Micropalaeontol., 39, 117–138, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-39-117-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-39-117-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We identify the first continuous carbonate-bearing sediment record from the tropical ocean that spans the entirety of the global warming event, the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum, ca. 40 Ma. We determine significant mismatches between middle Eocene calcareous microfossil datums from the tropical Pacific Ocean and established low-latitude zonation schemes. We highlight the potential of ODP Site 865 for future investigations into environmental and biotic changes throughout the early Paleogene.
Johan Renaudie, Effi-Laura Drews, and Simon Böhne
Foss. Rec., 21, 183–205, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-21-183-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-21-183-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Our ability to reconstruct the marine planktonic diatom early Paleogene history is hampered by decreased preservation as well as by observation bias. Collecting new diatom data in various Paleocene samples from legacy deep-sea sediment sections allows us to correct for the latter. The results show that the Paleocene deep-sea diatoms seem in fact as diverse and abundant as in the later Eocene while exhibiting very substantial survivorship of Cretaceous species up until the Eocene.
Joost Frieling, Emiel P. Huurdeman, Charlotte C. M. Rem, Timme H. Donders, Jörg Pross, Steven M. Bohaty, Guy R. Holdgate, Stephen J. Gallagher, Brian McGowran, and Peter K. Bijl
J. Micropalaeontol., 37, 317–339, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-37-317-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-37-317-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The hothouse climate of the early Paleogene and the associated violent carbon cycle perturbations are of particular interest to understanding current and future global climate change. Using dinoflagellate cysts and stable carbon isotope analyses, we identify several significant events, e.g., the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum in sedimentary deposits from the Otway Basin, SE Australia. We anticipate that this study will facilitate detailed climate reconstructions west of the Tasmanian Gateway.
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.
Johan Renaudie
Biogeosciences, 13, 6003–6014, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-6003-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-6003-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Marine planktonic diatoms are today both the main silica and carbon exporter to the deep sea. However, 50 million years ago, radiolarians were the main silica exporter and diatoms were a rare, geographically restricted group. Quantification of their rise to dominance suggest that diatom abundance is primarily controlled by the continental weathering and has a negative feedback, observable on a geological timescale, on the carbon cycle.
Johan Renaudie and David B. Lazarus
J. Micropalaeontol., 35, 26–53, https://doi.org/10.1144/jmpaleo2014-026, https://doi.org/10.1144/jmpaleo2014-026, 2016
K. M. Pascher, C. J. Hollis, S. M. Bohaty, G. Cortese, R. M. McKay, H. Seebeck, N. Suzuki, and K. Chiba
Clim. Past, 11, 1599–1620, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1599-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1599-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Radiolarian taxa with high-latitude affinities are present from at least the middle Eocene in the SW Pacific and become very abundant in the late Eocene at all investigated sites. A short incursion of low-latitude taxa is observed during the MECO and late Eocene warming event at Site 277. Radiolarian abundance, diversity and taxa with high-latitude affinities increase at Site 277 in two steps in the latest Eocene due to climatic cooling and expansion of cold water masses.
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.
Johan Renaudie and David B. Lazarus
J. Micropalaeontol., 32, 59–86, https://doi.org/10.1144/jmpaleo2011-025, https://doi.org/10.1144/jmpaleo2011-025, 2013
Johan Renaudie and David B. Lazarus
J. Micropalaeontol., 31, 29–52, https://doi.org/10.1144/0262-821X10-026, https://doi.org/10.1144/0262-821X10-026, 2012
Related subject area
Subject: Feedback and Forcing | Archive: Marine Archives | Timescale: Cenozoic
Polar amplification of orbital-scale climate variability in the early Eocene greenhouse world
Biotic response of plankton communities to Middle to Late Miocene monsoon wind and nutrient flux changes in the Oman margin upwelling zone
North Atlantic marine biogenic silica accumulation through the early to middle Paleogene: implications for ocean circulation and silicate weathering feedback
Global mean surface temperature and climate sensitivity of the early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO), Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), and latest Paleocene
Dynamics of sediment flux to a bathyal continental margin section through the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum
Astronomical calibration of the Ypresian timescale: implications for seafloor spreading rates and the chaotic behavior of the solar system?
Warming, euxinia and sea level rise during the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum on the Gulf Coastal Plain: implications for ocean oxygenation and nutrient cycling
Orbitally tuned timescale and astronomical forcing in the middle Eocene to early Oligocene
Cyclone trends constrain monsoon variability during late Oligocene sea level highstands (Kachchh Basin, NW India)
Productivity feedback did not terminate the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM)
High resolution cyclostratigraphy of the early Eocene – new insights into the origin of the Cenozoic cooling trend
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.
Gerald Auer, Or M. Bialik, Mary-Elizabeth Antoulas, Noam Vogt-Vincent, and Werner E. Piller
Clim. Past, 19, 2313–2340, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-2313-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-2313-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We provided novel insights into the behaviour of a major upwelling cell between 15 and 8.5 million years ago. To study changing conditions, we apply a combination of geochemical and paleoecological parameters to characterize the nutrient availability and subsequent utilization by planktonic primary producers. These changes we then juxtapose with established records of contemporary monsoon wind intensification and changing high-latitude processes to explain shifts in the plankton community.
Jakub Witkowski, Karolina Bryłka, Steven M. Bohaty, Elżbieta Mydłowska, Donald E. Penman, and Bridget S. Wade
Clim. Past, 17, 1937–1954, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1937-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1937-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We reconstruct the history of biogenic opal accumulation through the early to middle Paleogene in the western North Atlantic. Biogenic opal accumulation was controlled by deepwater temperatures, atmospheric greenhouse gas levels, and continental weathering intensity. Overturning circulation in the Atlantic was established at the end of the extreme early Eocene greenhouse warmth period. We also show that the strength of the link between climate and continental weathering varies through time.
Gordon N. Inglis, Fran Bragg, Natalie J. Burls, Marlow Julius Cramwinckel, David Evans, Gavin L. Foster, Matthew Huber, Daniel J. Lunt, Nicholas Siler, Sebastian Steinig, Jessica E. Tierney, Richard Wilkinson, Eleni Anagnostou, Agatha M. de Boer, Tom Dunkley Jones, Kirsty M. Edgar, Christopher J. Hollis, David K. Hutchinson, and Richard D. Pancost
Clim. Past, 16, 1953–1968, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1953-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1953-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents estimates of global mean surface temperatures and climate sensitivity during the early Paleogene (∼57–48 Ma). We employ a multi-method experimental approach and show that i) global mean surface temperatures range between 27 and 32°C and that ii) estimates of
bulkequilibrium climate sensitivity (∼3 to 4.5°C) fall within the range predicted by the IPCC AR5 Report. This work improves our understanding of two key climate metrics during the early Paleogene.
Tom Dunkley Jones, Hayley R. Manners, Murray Hoggett, Sandra Kirtland Turner, Thomas Westerhold, Melanie J. Leng, Richard D. Pancost, Andy Ridgwell, Laia Alegret, Rob Duller, and Stephen T. Grimes
Clim. Past, 14, 1035–1049, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1035-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1035-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) is a transient global warming event associated with a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. Here we document a major increase in sediment accumulation rates on a subtropical continental margin during the PETM, likely due to marked changes in hydro-climates and sediment transport. These high sedimentation rates persist through the event and may play a key role in the removal of carbon from the atmosphere by the burial of organic carbon.
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.
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
T. Westerhold, U. Röhl, H. Pälike, R. Wilkens, P. A. Wilson, and G. Acton
Clim. Past, 10, 955–973, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-955-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-955-2014, 2014
M. Reuter, W. E. Piller, M. Harzhauser, and A. Kroh
Clim. Past, 9, 2101–2115, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-2101-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-2101-2013, 2013
A. Torfstein, G. Winckler, and A. Tripati
Clim. Past, 6, 265–272, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-6-265-2010, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-6-265-2010, 2010
T. Westerhold and U. Röhl
Clim. Past, 5, 309–327, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-5-309-2009, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-5-309-2009, 2009
Cited articles
Alegret, L., Ortiz, S., Arreguín-Rodríguez, G. J., Monechi, S., Millán, I., and Molina, E.: Microfossil turnover across the uppermost Danian at Caravaca, Spain: Paleoenvironmental inferences and identification of the latest Danian event, Palaeogeogr. Palaeocl., 463, 45–59, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.09.013, 2016. a, b
Barnet, J. S. K., Littler, K., Westerhold, T., Kroon, D., Leng, M. J., Bailey, I., Röhl, U., and Zachos, J. C.: A High‐Fidelity Benthic Stable Isotope Record of Late Cretaceous–Early Eocene Climate Change and Carbon‐Cycling, Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 34, 672–691, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019PA003556, 2019. a, b
Bernaola, G., Baceta, J. I., Orue-Etxebarria, X., Alegret, L., Martin-Rubio, M., Arostegui, J., and Dinares-Turell, J.: Evidence of an abrupt environmental disruption during the mid-Paleocene biotic event (Zumaia section, western Pyrenees), GSA Bulletin, 119, 785–795, https://doi.org/10.1130/B26132.1, 2007. a, b
Berner, R. A., Lasaga, A. C., and Garrels, R. M.: The carbonate-silicate geochemical cycle and its effect on atmospheric carbon dioxide over the past 100 million years, Am. J. Sci., 283, 641–683, https://doi.org/10.2475/ajs.283.7.641, 1983. a
Boersma, A., Shackleton, N. J., Hall, M., and Given, Q.: Carbon and oxygen isotope records at DSDP site 384 (North Atlantic) and some Paleocene paleotemperatures and carbon isotope variations in the Atlantic ocean, in: Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, 43, edited by: Tucholke, B. E., Vogt, P. R., Murdmaa, I. O., Rothe, P., Houghton, R. L., Galehouse, J. S., Kaneps, A., McNulty Jr., C. L., Okada H., Kendrick, J. W., Demars, K. R., and McCave, I. N., vol. 43 of Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, U.S. Government Printing Office, https://doi.org/10.2973/dsdp.proc.43.1979, 1979. a
Bornemann, A., Schulte, P., Sprong, J., Steurbaut, E., Youssef, M., and Speijer, R. P.: Latest Danian carbon isotope anomaly and associated environmental change in the southern Tethys (Nile Basin, Egypt), J. Geol. Soc., 166, 1135–1142, https://doi.org/10.1144/0016-76492008-104, 2009. a, b
Bowen, G. J., Beerling, D. J., Koch, P. L., Zachos, J. C., and Quattlebaum, T.: A humid climate state during the Palaeocene/Eocene thermal maximum, 432, 495–499, Nature, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03115, 2004. a
Bralower, T. J., Premoli Silva, I., Malone, M. J., and Scientific Participants Of Leg 198: New evidence for abrupt climate change in the Cretaceous and Paleogene: An Ocean Drilling Program expedition to Shatsky Rise, northwest Pacific, GSA Today, 12, 4–10, https://doi.org/10.1130/1052-5173(2002)012<0004:NEFACC>2.0.CO;2, 2002. a, b, c
Coccioni, R., Frontalini, F., Catanzariti, R., Jovane, L., Rodelli, D., Rodrigues, I. M., Savian, J. F., Giorgioni, M., and Galbrun, B.: Paleoenvironmental signature of the Selandian-Thanetian Transition Event (STTE) and Early Late Paleocene Event (ELPE) in the Contessa Road section (western Neo-Tethys), Palaeogeogr. Palaeocl., 523, 62–77, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.03.023, 2019. a, b
Dinarès‐Turell, J., Pujalte, V., Stoykova, K., Baceta, J. I., and Ivanov, M.: The Palaeocene “top chron C27n” transient greenhouse episode: evidence from marine pelagic Atlantic and peri‐Tethyan sections, Terra Nova, 24, 477–486, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3121.2012.01086.x, 2012. a, b
Figus, C., Bialik, O. M., Gladenkov, A. Y., Oreshkina, T. V., Renaudie, J., Smirnov, P., and Witkowski, J.: Climatic and tectonic controls on shallow-marine and freshwater diatomite deposition throughout the Palaeogene, Clim. Past, 20, 2629–2644, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2629-2024, 2024a. a
Foster, G. L., Royer, D. L., and Lunt, D. J.: Future climate forcing potentially without precedent in the last 420 million years, Nat. Commun., 8, 14845, https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms14845, 2017. a
Foster, G. L., Hull, P., Lunt, D. J., and Zachos, J. C.: Placing our current “hyperthermal” in the context of rapid climate change in our geological past, Philos. T. Roy. Soc. A, 376, 20170086, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2017.0086, 2018. a
Froelich, F. and Misra, S.: Was the Late Paleocene-Early Eocene Hot Because Earth Was Flat? An Ocean Lithium Isotope View of Mountain Building, Continental Weathering, Carbon Dioxide, and Earth's Cenozoic Climate, Oceanography, 27, 36–49, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2014.06, 2014. a
Gradstein, F. M., Ogg, J. G., Schmitz, M., and Ogg, G.: The Geologic Time Scale 2012 2-Volume Set, Elsevier Science, ISBN 978-0-444-59448-8, OCLC 956664433, 2012. a
Green, P. J. and Silverman, B. W.: Nonparametric regression and generalized linear models: a rougnhness penalty approch, no. 58 in Monographs on statistics and applied probability, Chapman & Hall, ISBN 978-0-412-30040-0, 1994. a
Haq, B. U., Hisatake, O., and Lohmann, G. P.: Paleobiogeography of the Paleocene/Eocene calcareous nannoplankton from the North Atlantic Ocean, in: Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, 43, edited by: Tucholke, B. E., Vogt, P. R., Murdmaa, I. O., Rothe, P., Houghton, R. L., Galehouse, J. S., Kaneps, A., McNulty Jr., C. L., Okada H., Kendrick, J. W., Demars, K. R., and McCave, I. N., vol. 43 of Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, U.S. Government Printing Office, https://doi.org/10.2973/dsdp.proc.43.1979, 1979. a
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, Newsl. Stratigr., 48, 91–110, https://doi.org/10.1127/nos/2014/0054, 2015. a, b, c, d
Hollis, C. J., Tayler, M. J., Andrew, B., Taylor, K. W., Lurcock, P., Bijl, P. K., Kulhanek, D. K., Crouch, E. M., Nelson, C. S., Pancost, R. D., Huber, M., Wilson, G. S., Ventura, G. T., Crampton, J. S., Schiøler, P., and Phillips, A.: Organic-rich sedimentation in the South Pacific Ocean associated with Late Paleocene climatic cooling, Earth-Sci. Rev., 134, 81–97, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2014.03.006, 2014. a, b, c, d, e, f, g
Hollis, C. J., Naeher, S., Clowes, C. D., Naafs, B. D. A., Pancost, R. D., Taylor, K. W. R., Dahl, J., Li, X., Ventura, G. T., and Sykes, R.: Late Paleocene CO2 drawdown, climatic cooling and terrestrial denudation in the southwest Pacific, Clim. Past, 18, 1295–1320, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1295-2022, 2022. a
Hyland, E. G., Sheldon, N. D., and Cotton, J. M.: Terrestrial evidence for a two-stage mid-Paleocene biotic event, Palaeogeogr. Palaeocl., 417, 371–378, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2014.09.031, 2015. a, b
Jehle, S., Bornemann, A., Lägel, A. F., Deprez, A., and Speijer, R. P.: Paleoceanographic changes across the Latest Danian Event in the South Atlantic Ocean and planktic foraminiferal response, Palaeogeogr. Palaeocl., 525, 1–13, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.03.024, 2019. a
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. a
Kiessling, W., Reddin, C. J., Dowding, E. M., Dimitrijević, D., Raja, N. B., and Kocsis, A. T.: Marine biological responses to abrupt climate change in deep time, Paleobiology, 50, 1–15, https://doi.org/10.1017/pab.2024.20, 2024. a
Li, J., Hu, X., Garzanti, E., Boudagher-Fadel, M., Jiang, J., and Xu, Y.: The record of the Early Late Paleocene Event (ELPE, 59.5 Ma) in shallow-water Tethys Himalayan carbonates (Zongpu Formation, South Tibet), J. Sediment. Res., 94, 937–952, https://doi.org/10.2110/jsr.2023.022, 2024. a, b, c, d, e
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. a, b, c, d, e, f, g
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 Pl. Sc., 39, 489–516, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-earth-040610-133431, 2011. a
Olivarez Lyle, A. and Lyle, M.: Determination of biogenic opal in pelagic marine sediments: a simple method revisited, in: Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, 199 Initial Reports, edited by: Lyle, M. W., Wilson, P. A., Janecek, T. R., Backman, J., Busch, W. H., Coxall, H. K., Faul, K., Gaillot, P., Hovan, S. A., Knoop, P., Kruse, S., Lanci, L., Lear, C., Moore, T. C., Nigrini, C. A., Nishi, H., Nomura, R., Norris, R. D., Pälike, H., Parés, J. M., Quintin, L., Raffi, I., Rea, B. R., Rea, D. K., Steiger, T. H., Tripati, A., Vanden Berg, M. D., and Wade, B., vol. 199 of Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Ocean Drilling Program, https://doi.org/10.2973/odp.proc.ir.199.2002, 2002. a
Penman, D. E.: Silicate weathering and North Atlantic silica burial during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, Geology, 44, 731–734, https://doi.org/10.1130/G37704.1, 2016. a
Penman, D. E., Hönisch, B., Zeebe, R. E., Thomas, E., and Zachos, J. C.: Rapid and sustained surface ocean acidification during the Paleocene‐Eocene Thermal Maximum, Paleoceanography, 29, 357–369, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014PA002621, 2014. a
Penman, D. E., Keller, A., D'haenens, S., Kirtland Turner, S., and Hull, P. M.: Atlantic Deep‐Sea Cherts Associated With Eocene Hyperthermal Events, Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 34, 287–299, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018PA003503, 2019. a
Petrizzo, M. R.: An Early Late Paleocene Event on Shatsky Rise, northwest Pacific ocean (ODP Leg 198): evidence from planktonic foraminiferal assemblages, in: Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, 198 Scientific Results, edited by: Bralower, T., Premoli Silva, I., and Malone, M., vol. 198 of Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Ocean Drilling Program, https://doi.org/10.2973/odp.proc.sr.198.2006, 2006. a, b, c, d, e
R Core Team: R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing, R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria, https://www.R-project.org/ (last access: 9 December 2024), 2024. a
Renaudie, J., Drews, E.-L., and Böhne, S.: The Paleocene record of marine diatoms in deep-sea sediments, Foss. Rec., 21, 183–205, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-21-183-2018, 2018. a
Rice, S., Freund, H., Huang, W., Clouse, J., and Isaacs, C.: Application of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy to Silica Diagenesis: The Opal-A to Opal-Ct Transformation, SEPM Journal of Sedimentary Research, 65A, 639–647, https://doi.org/10.1306/D4268185-2B26-11D7-8648000102C1865D, 1995. a
Sarkar, S., Cotton, L. J., Valdes, P. J., and Schmidt, D. N.: Shallow Water Records of the PETM: Novel Insights From NE India (Eastern Tethys), Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 37, e2021PA004257, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021PA004257, 2022. a
Shipboard Scientific Party: Site 208, in: Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, 21, edited by: Burns, R. E., Andews, J. E., van der Lingen, G. J., Churkin Jr., M., Galehouse, J. S., Packman, G. H., Davies, T. A., Kennett, J. P., Dumitrica, P., Edwards, A. R., and Von Herzen, R. P., vol. 21 of Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, U.S. Government Printing Office, https://doi.org/10.2973/dsdp.proc.21.1973, 1973. a, b
Shipboard Scientific Party: Site 384: the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary, Aptian reefs, and the J-Anomaly Ridge, in: Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, 43, edited by: Tucholke, B. E., Vogt, P. R., Murdmaa, I. O., Rothe, P., Houghton, R. L., Galehouse, J. S., Kaneps, A., McNulty Jr., C. L., Okada H., Kendrick, J. W., Demars, K. R., and McCave, I. N., vol. 43 of Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, U.S. Government Printing Office, https://doi.org/10.2973/dsdp.proc.43.1979, 1979. a, b, c, d
Shipboard Scientific Party: Site 700, in: Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, 114 Initial Reports, edited by: Ciesielski, P. F., Kristoffersen, Y., Clement, B., Blangy, J.-P., Bourrouilh, R., Crux, J. A., Fenner, J. M., Froelich, P. N., Hailwood, E., Hodell, D., Katz, M. E., Ling, H. Y., Mienert, J., Müller, D., Mwenifumbo, C. J., Nobes, D. C., Nocchi, M., Warnke, D. A., and Westall, F., vol. 114 of Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Ocean Drilling Program, https://doi.org/10.2973/odp.proc.ir.114.1988, 1988. a, b, c
Shipboard Scientific Party: Site 752, in: Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, 121 Initial Reports, edited by: Peirce, J., Weissel, J., Taylor, E., Dehn, J., Driscoll, N., Farrell, J., Fourtanier, E., Frey, F., Gamson, P. D., Gee, J. S., Gibson, I. L., Janecek, T., Klootwijk, C., Lawrence, J. R., Littke, R., Newman, J. S., Nomura, R., Owen, R. M., Pospichal, J. J., Rea, D. R., Resiwati, P., Saunders, A. D., Smit, J., Smith, G. M., Tamaki, K., Weis, D., and Wilkinson, C., vol. 121 of Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Ocean Drilling Program, https://doi.org/10.2973/odp.proc.ir.121.1989, 1989. a, b
Shipboard Scientific Party: Site 1050, in: Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program 171B Initial Reports, edited by: Norris, R., Kroon, D., and Klaus, A., vol. 171B of Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Ocean Drilling Program, https://doi.org/10.2973/odp.proc.ir.171B.1998, 1998a. a, b, c, d
Shipboard Scientific Party: Site 1051, in: Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program 171B Initial Reports, edited by: Norris, R., Kroon, D., and Klaus, A., vol. 171B of Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Ocean Drilling Program, https://doi.org/10.2973/odp.proc.ir.171B.1998, 1998b. a, b
Shipboard Scientific Party: Site 1121: the Campbell “Drift”, in: Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, 181 Initial Reports, edited by: Carter, R. M., McCave, I. N., Richter, C., Carter, L., Aita, Y., Buret, C., Di Stefano, A., Fenner, J., Fothergill, P., Gradstein, F., Hall, I., Handwerger, D., Harris, S., Hayward, B., Hu, S., Joseph, L., Khim, B. K., Lee, Y.-D., Millwood, L., Rinna, J., Smith, G., Suzuki, A., Weedon, G., Wei, K.-Y., Wilson, G., and Winkler, A., vol. 181 of Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Ocean Drilling Program, https://doi.org/10.2973/odp.proc.ir.181.2000, 2000. a, b
Sprong, J., Kouwenhoven, T. J., Bornemann, A., Schulte, P., Stassen, P., Steurbaut, E., Youssef, M., and Speijer, R. P.: Characterization of the Latest Danian Event by means of benthic foraminiferal assemblages along a depth transect at the southern Tethyan margin (Nile Basin, Egypt), Mar. Micropaleontol., 86–87, 15–31, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marmicro.2012.01.001, 2012. a
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. Palaeocl., 257, 377–403, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2007.09.016, 2008. a, b, c
Westerhold, T., Röhl, U., Donner, B., and Zachos, J. C.: Global Extent of Early Eocene Hyperthermal Events: A New Pacific Benthic Foraminiferal Isotope Record From Shatsky Rise (ODP Site 1209), Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 33, 626–642, https://doi.org/10.1029/2017PA003306, 2018. a, b
Westerhold, T., Marwan, N., Drury, A. J., Liebrand, D., Agnini, C., Anagnostou, E., Barnet, J. S. K., Bohaty, S. M., De Vleeschouwer, D., Florindo, F., Frederichs, T., Hodell, D. A., Holbourn, A. E., Kroon, D., Lauretano, V., Littler, K., Lourens, L. J., Lyle, M., Pälike, H., Röhl, U., Tian, J., Wilkens, R. H., Wilson, P. A., and Zachos, J. C.: An astronomically dated record of Earth's climate and its predictability over the last 66 million years, Science, 369, 1383–1387, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aba6853, 2020. a, b
Witkowski, J., Penman, D. E., Bryłka, K., Wade, B. S., Matting, S., Harwood, D. M., and Bohaty, S. M.: Early Paleogene biosiliceous sedimentation in the Atlantic Ocean: Testing the inorganic origin hypothesis for Paleocene and Eocene chert and porcellanite, Palaeogeogr. Palaeocl., 556, 109896, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2020.109896, 2020. a
Witkowski, J., Bryłka, K., Bohaty, S. M., Mydłowska, E., Penman, D. E., and Wade, B. S.: North Atlantic marine biogenic silica accumulation through the early to middle Paleogene: implications for ocean circulation and silicate weathering feedback, Clim. Past, 17, 1937–1954, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1937-2021, 2021. a, b, c, d, e
Yanchilina, A., Yam, R., Kolodny, Y., and Shemesh, A.: From diatom opal-A δ18O to chert δ18O in deep sea sediments, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 268, 368–382, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2019.10.018, 2020. a
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. a
Short summary
We examine trends in biosiliceous fluxes and isotopic records in the North and South Atlantic, South Pacific, and Indian oceans during two climatic and biotic events: the Latest Danian Event (LDE; ~62.2 Ma) and the Early Late Palaeocene Event (ELPE; ~59.2 Ma). Our results show a peak during the LDE and following the ELPE.
We examine trends in biosiliceous fluxes and isotopic records in the North and South Atlantic,...
