Extreme warmth and heat-stressed plankton in the tropics during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum

Frieling, Joost; Gebhardt, Holger; Huber, Matthew; Adekeye, Olabisi A.; Akande, Samuel O.; Reichart, Gert‐Jan; Middelburg, Jack J.; Schouten, Stefan; Sluijs, Appy

doi:10.1126/sciadv.1600891

Cited by 160 publications

(233 citation statements)

References 97 publications

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“…This is similar to the Paleocene in Nigeria (Jan du Chêne and Adediran, 1984;Frieling et al, 2017), Cameroon (Mbesse, 2013), and Tunisia (Crouch et al, 2003), indicating that Apectodinium was already common along African margins before the PETM. More surprising is perhaps the general lack of an Apectodinium acme at these low-latitude sites during the PETM, although some caution must be placed due to poor preservation at the Tunisian site (Crouch et al, 2003) and the low sampling resolution of the section in Nigeria .…”

Section: The Onset Of the Petm And The Apectodinium Acmesupporting

confidence: 61%

“…2). Furthermore, the required minimum temperature of ∼ 20 • C (Frieling et al, 2014) was widespread in many midlatitude sections well before the PETM (Dunkley Jones et al, 2013;Frieling et al, 2017), signaling that other environmental factors were more important in controlling the distribution of Apectodinium at low and midlatitudes (Sluijs et al, 2007a;Sluijs and Brinkhuis, 2009).…”

Section: The Onset Of the Petm And The Apectodinium Acmementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many sites globally show decreased bottom-water oxygen content during the PETM and at some shelf sections bottom waters (Dickson et al, 2012 and even the photic zone became euxinic Frieling et al, 2014Frieling et al, , 2017Schoon et al, 2015). Oxygen minimum zones were expanded (Zhou et al, 2016) and deep ocean waters were affected by deoxygenation, although anoxia did not develop in the deep sea (Chun et al, 2010;Pälike et al, 2014).…”

Section: Deoxygenation During the Petmmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The integrated changes in climate and the carbon cycle lead to global average surface warming during the PETM of the order of ∼ 4-5 • C (Dunkley Jones et al, 2013;Frieling et al, 2017), although this warming was not equally distributed across the globe. Regions of enhanced warming are recognized in both the northern midlatitudes and southern midlatitudes and high latitudes, which shows that the mechanism underlying extratropical amplification was not fully saturated even in these strong greenhouse climates (Frieling et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Regions of enhanced warming are recognized in both the northern midlatitudes and southern midlatitudes and high latitudes, which shows that the mechanism underlying extratropical amplification was not fully saturated even in these strong greenhouse climates (Frieling et al, 2017). The warming during the PETM is associated with sea level rise (Sluijs et al, 2008b), local photic zone euxinia Frieling et al, 2014Frieling et al, , 2017, global expansion of anoxic waters (Dickson et al, 2012), and an accelerated hydrological cycle Schmitz and Pujalte, 2007;Sluijs and Brinkhuis, 2009;Handley et al, 2012;Carmichael et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tropical Atlantic climate and ecosystem regime shifts during the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum

et al. 2018

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Abstract. The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, 56 Ma) was a phase of rapid global warming associated with massive carbon input into the ocean-atmosphere system from a 13 C-depleted reservoir. Many midlatitude and high-latitude sections have been studied and document changes in salinity, hydrology and sedimentation, deoxygenation, biotic overturning, and migrations, but detailed records from tropical regions are lacking. Here, we study the PETM at Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 959 in the equatorial Atlantic using a range of organic and inorganic proxies and couple these with dinoflagellate cyst (dinocyst) assemblage analysis. The PETM at Site 959 was previously found to be marked by a ∼ 3.8 ‰ negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE) and a ∼ 4 • C surface ocean warming from the uppermost Paleocene to peak PETM, of which ∼ 1 • C occurs before the onset of the CIE. We record upper Paleocene dinocyst assemblages that are similar to PETM assemblages as found in extratropical regions, confirming poleward migrations of ecosystems during the PETM. The early stages of the PETM are marked by a typical acme of the tropical genus Apectodinium, which reaches abundances of up to 95 %. Subsequently, dinocyst abundances diminish greatly, as do carbonate and pyritized silicate microfossils. The combined paleoenvironmental information from Site 959 and a close-by shelf site in Nigeria implies the general absence of eukaryotic surface-dwelling microplankton during peak PETM warmth in the eastern equatorial Atlantic, most likely caused by heat stress. We hypothesize, based on a literature survey, that heat stress might have reduced calcification in more tropical regions, potentially contributing to reduced deep sea carbonate accumulation rates, and, by buffering acidification, also to biological carbonate compensation of the injected carbon during the PETM. Crucially, abundant organic benthic foraminiferal linings imply sustained export production, likely driven by prokaryotes. In sharp contrast, the recovery of the CIE yields rapid ( 10 kyr) fluctuations in the abundance of several dinocyst groups, suggesting extreme ecosystem and environmental variability.

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Section: The Onset Of the Petm And The Apectodinium Acmesupporting

confidence: 61%

Section: The Onset Of the Petm And The Apectodinium Acmementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Deoxygenation During the Petmmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tropical Atlantic climate and ecosystem regime shifts during the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum

et al. 2018

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Vital Effects and Ecologic Adaptation of Photosymbiont‐Bearing Planktonic Foraminifera During the Paleocene‐Eocene Thermal Maximum, Implications for Paleoclimate

Aubry

2018

Paleoceanog and Paleoclimatol

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Stable isotope‐size data of four major planktonic foraminifera lineages from the Paleocene‐Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, ~56 Ma) at two locations (North Atlantic New Jersey shelf and Southern Ocean) are analyzed. By comparing changes in δ13C/δ18O‐size correlation prior to and during the PETM, we present evidence of significant changes in vital effects in photosymbiont‐bearing planktonic foraminifera during the PETM. The δ13C‐size data indicate divergent changes in δ13C vital effects in high‐latitude versus mid‐latitude populations, due likely to different responses in photosymbiotic activities. Combined δ18O‐size data and isotopic ranking indicates that some surface dwellers experienced changes that may be interpreted as depth migrations. Extreme temperatures (>32°C) may have exerted selective pressure and drove depth migrations. Species with flexible depth distribution were capable of adapting to rapid warming by vertical migration in the upper ocean, while populations restricted to near‐surface ocean may have undergone temporal and/or regional collapse during the peak warming. From a paleo‐proxy perspective, these biologic responses have the potential to obscure paleoceanographic signatures both regionally and globally.

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Global Warming and Mass Extinctions Associated With Large Igneous Province Volcanism

Bond¹,

Sun²

2021

Large Igneous Provinces

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The coincidence of large igneous province (LIP) eruptions with at least three, if not all, of the Big Five biotic crises of the Phanerozoic implies that volcanism is a key driver of mass extinctions. Many LIP-induced extinction scenarios invoke global warming, caused primarily (but not exclusively) by greenhouse gases emitted at the site of LIP emplacement and by contact metamorphism of carbon-rich host rocks. Here we explore (1) the climate-changing products of volcanism including sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and methane (CH 4 ) from eruptions, contact metamorphism, and melting (dissociation) of gas hydrates; (2) their deadly effects, including marine anoxia and thermal stress; (3) increasingly sophisticated paleotemperature proxies (e.g., δ 18 O of shell material) through case studies of the best-known LIP-warming-extinction nexi; and (4) global warming through the lens of the putative Anthropocene extinction. End Cretaceous Deccan Traps Warming (+4°C) No −2‰ Note: The Big Five extinction events are highlighted in bold text. PDD = Pripyat-Dnieper-Donets rift system; CAMP = Central Atlantic Magmatic Province. Modified from Bond and Grasby (2017).

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Extreme warmth and heat-stressed plankton in the tropics during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum

Abstract: During rapid global warming 56 million years ago, tropical sea surface temperatures exceeded 36°C and stressed eukaryotic plankton.

Cited by 160 publications

References 97 publications

Tropical Atlantic climate and ecosystem regime shifts during the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum

Tropical Atlantic climate and ecosystem regime shifts during the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum

Vital Effects and Ecologic Adaptation of Photosymbiont‐Bearing Planktonic Foraminifera During the Paleocene‐Eocene Thermal Maximum, Implications for Paleoclimate

Global Warming and Mass Extinctions Associated With Large Igneous Province Volcanism

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