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In two continental sections in the Tremp basin, northern Spain, the initial Eocene thermal maximum (also known as the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum) is registered by an ϳ6‰ fall in ␦ 13 C values in soil carbonate nodules. High-resolution correlations, using the ␦ 13 C excursion, can be made to nearby shelf and bathyal marine settings, allowing a detailed reconstruction of soil formation on land and transport of detritus to the sea during the initial Eocene thermal maximum. Soils that formed before and after the initial Eocene thermal maximum in the Tremp region reflect arid to semiarid conditions, with abundant evaporative minerals, whereas initial Eocene thermal maximum soils reflect seasonally wetter but generally dry conditions. During the initial Eocene thermal maximum, land erosion was intensified and accumulation rates of terrigenous detritus in the sea increased. This reflects both increased topographic relief associated with a prominent sea-level lowstand and enhanced seasonal precipitation over a dry landscape with sparse vegetation. Deeper erosion led to an increase in the flux of kaolinite from buried Mesozoic soils to the oceans. The association of the initial Eocene thermal maximum with a sealevel lowstand in northern Spain, as well as at other marginal North Atlantic sites, may reflect coeval large-scale magmatic activity in the northernmost Atlantic.

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Amenability to radiometric dating. Unknown, but absolute cyclostratigraphic dating is possible. Amenability to magnetostratigraphy. Yes, chrons C22n, C21r, C21n and C20r have been identified. Amenability to chemostratigraphy. Yes, but work is still in progress. Accessibility. Excellent. Free access. Yes, the section is located in a public beach. Permanent protection of the site. Yes. The whole coast is protected by the Spanish Littoral Law (22/1988, July 28); the Gorrondatxe beach is specially protected in order to preserve the endangered Natterjack toad (Epidalea calamita) from regional extinction. Local institutions (town and regional councils, University of the Basque Country) are willing to cooperate. Possibility to fix a permanent marker. Yes. Once the GSSP is approved, a permanent marker (a metal plate) will be fixed. Local institutions (town and regional councils, University of the Basque Country) are willing to cooperate.

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