Sea-level and salinity fluctuations during the Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum in Arctic Spitsbergen

Harding, Ian C.; Charles, Adam J.; Marshall, J.; Pälike, Heiko; Roberts, Andrew P.; Wilson, Paul A.; Jarvis, Edward; Thorne, Robert L.; Morris, E. J.; Moremon, Rebecca; Pearce, Richard; Akbari, Shir

doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2010.12.043

Cited by 120 publications

(157 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…3), a large drop in salinity ∼ 150 km offshore, similar to that seen regionally at proximal sites (e.g., Sluijs and Brinkhuis, 2009;Harding et al, 2011), seems unlikely. Low-salinity-tolerant dinocyst species, i.e., Senegalinium cpx, are abundant in many high-latitude sections during the PETM Harding et al, 2011), but the high relative abundance of Protoperidinioid cysts is only found at two sites in the eastern equatorial Atlantic . This is surprising given the high abundances of Protoperidinioid cysts in sediments deposited in nutrient-rich sectors of the modern ocean.…”

Section: Dinocyst Decline During Peak Petmmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, some sections show relatively low percentages of Apectodinium during the PETM Frieling et al, 2014). In addition to the acme of Apectodinium, through the entire North Atlantic, Arctic, and northern Tethys, the marker species Apectodinium augustum is present during the PETM (Iakovleva et al, 2001;Schmitz et al, 2004;Sluijs et al, 2006;Sluijs and Brinkhuis, 2009;Harding et al, 2011), although other species are often the dominant representatives of the genus. Recent taxonomic revision of several taxa has removed Apectodinium augustum from Apectodinium and moved it to Axiodinium .…”

Section: The Onset Of the Petm And The Apectodinium Acmementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the pro-delta settings of ODP Site 1172 on the East Tasman Plateau (Sluijs et al, 2011), the ACEX core in the Arctic Ocean (Sluijs et al, 2008a), and Spitsbergen (Harding et al, 2011), the PETM sees an influx of Areoligera into Paleocene dinocyst assemblages dominated by low-salinity-tolerant Senegalinium, evidencing a more marine setting. In the nearby shelf site in Nigeria, Areoligera is a common constituent of the assemblage only directly before the PETM , perhaps recording both the eustatic rise at the PETM and a latest Paleocene regression (Speijer and Morsi, 2002).…”

Section: Latest Paleocene Background Statementioning

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: Dinocyst Decline During Peak Petmmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Onset Of the Petm And The Apectodinium Acmementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Latest Paleocene Background Statementioning

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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“…While sea level rose immediately before the CIE (Sluijs et al, 2008;Harding et al, 2011;Handley et al, 2011), tectonic uplift (from volcanism or continental collision) may have led to subaerial exposure. This hypothesis has proven difficult to test, but criticisms include the lack of carbon injection from the drying of epicontinental seaways at other times in earth's history (Nicolo et al, 2007) as well as the special set of circumstances that would have needed to occur in order for this mechanism to have caused the PETM (Dickens, 2011).…”

Section: Oxidation Of Epicontinental Seaway Sedimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A magmatic trigger for the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum?

Dubin¹

2015

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Fifty-six million years ago Earth experienced rapid global warming (~6°C) that was caused by the release of large amounts of carbon into the ocean-atmosphere system. This Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) is often cited as an analogue of anthropogenic climate change. Many trigger mechanisms for the carbon release at the PETM have been proposed. Common to all scenarios is rapid release of isotopically light carbon (< 13 C/ 12 C values) from methane hydrates, terrestrial or marine organic matter, as indicated by a pronounced excursion to light carbon isotope values across the PETM. I test the hypothesis that the PETM warming and isotope excursion were caused by the intrusion of a magmatic sill complex into organic-rich sediments in the North Atlantic. The intrusion of magma into sedimentary rocks will cause heating and metamorphic reactions in a thermal aureole around the intrusion. If these sediments are rich in organic matter, large volumes of isotopically light carbon are rapidly released. I examine geochemical evidence from lead, osmium, and organic carbon to place constraints on the extent the carbon isotope excursion during the PETM may have been caused by contact metamorphism of organic-rich sediments. Potential terrestrial and submarine analogs are examined to determine the behavior of these elements during thermal alteration. Furthermore, geochemical evidence from sediment cores at the PETM provides additional information about what might have caused the carbon isotope excursion. I find that lead is not a suitable proxy for carbon mobilization to the overlying seawater during contact metamorphism. Osmium, however, is mobilized together with carbon. Making reasonable assumptions for the 187 Os/ 188 Os of the sediments from the North Atlantic Magmatic Province (NAMP), constrained by the 187 Re/ 188 Os of organic-rich sediments and the depositional age of the sediment, the entire marine osmium isotope anomaly at the PETM could be explained without the need to invoke enhanced continental weathering. Based on estimates of the extent of mobilization of organic carbon relative to osmium, approximately 47% to 60% of the carbon released at the PETM may have been derived from thermal alteration of organic-rich sediments in the NAMP.

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“…Likewise, the very abundant terrestrial palynomorph assemblages found in these deltaic to shallow-marine sequences of the Cenozoic succession generally only contain long-ranging species of limited value for high-resolution biostratigraphy (Manum, 1962;Cepek & Krutszh, 2001). More precise age determinations have been obtained from foraminifera, nannofossils and dinoflagellate cysts (Manum, 1960;Feyling-Hansen & Ulleberg, 1984;Head, 1984;Manum & Throndsen, 1986;Matthiessen, 1986;Smelror, 1996;Čepek, 2001;Harding et al, 2011) and from geochemical data (Dypvik et al, 2011;Harding et al, 2011), but these fossils and geochemical records are confined to intervals of strong marine influence.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are there Upper Cretaceous sedimentary rocks preserved on Sørkapp Land, Svalbard?

Smelror¹,

Larssen²

2016

NJG

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Paleogene formations on eastern Sørkapp Land contain common, reworked, Middle and Late Cretaceous terrestrial and marine microfloras. This observation questions the Late Cretaceous age reported for the Firkanten Formation in the Øyrlandet Graben on western Sørkapp Land, as the pollen and spores reported from this graben may not be in situ. The present palynostratigraphic data from the eastern Sørkapp Land suggest that the Firkanten and Basilika formations were deposited in a relatively short time-period during the Early to Mid Thanetian. The youngest Cretaceous deposits documented from the Carolinefjellet Formation in eastern Sørkapp Land are of Late Albian age.

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Sea-level and salinity fluctuations during the Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum in Arctic Spitsbergen

Cited by 120 publications

References 63 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

A magmatic trigger for the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum?

Are there Upper Cretaceous sedimentary rocks preserved on Sørkapp Land, Svalbard?

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