Carbon sequestration during the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum by an efficient biological pump

Ma, Zhiyi; Gray, Emmeline; Thomas, Ellen; Murphy, Brandon; Zachos, James C; Paytan, Adina

doi:10.1038/ngeo2139

Cited by 99 publications

(137 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Paleomagnetic analyses of the Mount Moore Formation at Strathcona Fiord are consistent with deposition occurring during Chron C26-25 which is late Paleocene in age (Tauxe and Clark, 1987). Bivalves and gastropods found in this formation are also indicative of a late Paleocene age (Marincovich and Zinsmeister, 1991).…”

Section: Stratigraphysupporting

confidence: 55%

“…(For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.) acterized by a negative carbon isotope excursion (between 2300 and 6800 Gt 13 C depleted carbon; Ma et al, 2014) with temperatures rising 5-8 • C in ≤20 ky with a global increase not exceeding 5 • C, for 100-250 ky, making the PETM a useful analog for modern warming (e.g., Sluijs et al, 2006Sluijs et al, , 2007Sluijs et al, , 2009Zachos et al, 2008;Dunkley-Jones et al, 2013;Wing and Currano, 2013;Eldrett et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Was the Arctic Eocene ‘rainforest’ monsoonal? Estimates of seasonal precipitation from early Eocene megafloras from Ellesmere Island, Nunavut

West

Greenwood

Basinger

2015

Earth and Planetary Science Letters

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Section: Stratigraphysupporting

confidence: 55%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Was the Arctic Eocene ‘rainforest’ monsoonal? Estimates of seasonal precipitation from early Eocene megafloras from Ellesmere Island, Nunavut

West

Greenwood

Basinger

2015

Earth and Planetary Science Letters

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“…Instead, the preferential removal of 12 C via enhanced burial of organic carbon (Corg) has been proposed to explain the CIE recovery timing 43 . This is consistent with evidence of increased marine productivity during the PETM from elevated biogenic barium accumulation rates 44,45 Author Contributions: DP, SKT, PS, RN, and SB conceived the study and participated in IODP Expedition 342 that recovered and described the sediments used here. DP generated carbonate stable isotope analyses in the lab of JZ, and AD generated organic carbon stable isotope and Coulormat %CaCO3 analyses.…”

supporting

confidence: 52%

An abyssal carbonate compensation depth overshoot in the aftermath of the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum

et al. 2016

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The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM; ~56 Ma) represents one of the largest and most abrupt greenhouse warming events in Earth history. Marine and terrestrial records document a global >2.5‰ negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE) [1][2][3] coincident with global mean surface ocean warming of >4°C 4 and geochemical and sedimentological evidence for ocean acidification 5,6 . Collectively, these lines of evidence suggest a rapid (10 3 -10 4 years) and massive (~3,000-10,000 PgC) release of 13 C-depleted carbon into the ocean-atmosphere system 7-9 . The PETM thus offers the opportunity to examine the response and recovery of the global carbon cycle and seawater carbonate chemistry to an ancient CO2 release similar in magnitude to ongoing anthropogenic fossil fuel combustion 10 . Nonetheless, some models 9,10,20 predict that a testable facet of the recovery process from massive carbon cycle perturbation involves an over-deepening of the CCD, and the location of these sites above the pre-PETM CCD means that they cannot directly test for this predicted CCD over-deepening. Direct observational evidence sites deep enough to test for a post-PETM CCD overshoot has thus far remained elusive.Here we present lithology, CaCO3 content, and carbon isotope (δ 13 C) records from recently recovered sediment cores in the North Atlantic (IODP Sites U1403, PETM 6 paleodepth ~4374m and U1409, paleodepth ~2913m 30 ) that provide important constraints on the evolution of the CCD through the PETM, including the first evidence for CCD over-deepening during the PETM recovery. To explore the broader implications of these records for PETM carbon emissions scenarios, we present new carbon release experiments using two carbon cycle models -LOSCAR 9,31 and cGENIE 32,33 and discuss uncertainties in the representation of geological carbon cycling in current models.At Site U1409, the PETM CIE occurs in an interval of variously silicified sediments (siliceous claystones, siliceous limestones and cherts) at 178.9-179.2 mcd ( Figure 1A), contrasting with the nannofossil chalk that characterizes much of the Paleogene at this site 30 . Although likely somewhat condensed, the δ 13 C carb record bears the typical 27 PETM CIE pattern of an abrupt decrease (here of ~2‰) followed by a plateau of low values and then gradual recovery (Fig. 1). Bulk δ 13 Ccarb over the PETM CIE interval sampled a heterogeneous mixture of lithology (clay, carbonate-rich burrows within that clay, and siliceous sediments), with all three lithologies revealing significantly lower δ 13 C within the CIE than pre-event values. The integrity of the bulk δ 13 Ccarb record is also supported by the close structural similarity between it and the equivalent bulk δ 13 Ccarb records from the Southern Ocean and Walvis Ridge (Fig. 1, 2A). The Site U1409 (Figure 2A), so we confidently assign the onset of carbonate sedimentation at Site U1403 to early in the PETM recovery phase.We construct age models by correlating the δ 13 Ccarb records to a compilation of bulk and fine-fraction δ 13 Cc...

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“…Globigerinatheka δ 13 C values show a progressive increase approaching the peak warming of the MECO that is not apparent in the bulk δ 13 C record (Figure ). Such an increase can result from increased symbiont photosynthetic activity [e.g., Spero and Williams , ] and/or reflect lower seawater pH [ Spero et al ., ; Birch et al ., ; Penman et al ., ], possibly caused or exacerbated by enhanced water column remineralization of organic matter during warming [ John et al ., ; Ma et al ., ]. Overall, δ 13 C records at Site 1263 indicate well‐developed water column stratification without substantial changes over the studied time period (Figure ) .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

The middle Eocene climatic optimum (MECO): A multiproxy record of paleoceanographic changes in the southeast Atlantic (ODP Site 1263, Walvis Ridge)

et al. 2014

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The middle Eocene climatic optimum (MECO,~40 Ma) was a transient period of global warming that interrupted the secular Cenozoic cooling trend. We investigated the paleoceanographic, paleoenvironmental, and paleoecological repercussions of the MECO in the southeast Atlantic subtropical gyre (Ocean Drilling Program Site 1263). TEX 86 and δ 18 O records support an~4°C increase in surface and deepwater temperatures during the MECO. There is no long-term negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE) associated with the early warming, consistent with other sites, and there is no short-term negative CIE (~50 kyr) during the peak of the MECO, in contrast to what has been observed at some sites. This lack of a CIE during the peak of the MECO at Site 1263 could be due to poor sediment recovery or geographic heterogeneity of the δ 13 C signal. Benthic and planktic foraminiferal mass accumulation rates markedly declined during MECO, indicating a reduction of planktic foraminiferal production and export productivity. Vertical δ 13 C gradients do not indicate major changes in water column stratification, and there is no biomarker or micropaleontological evidence that hypoxia developed. We suggest that temperature dependency of metabolic rates could explain the observed decrease in foraminiferal productivity during warming. The kinetics of biochemical reactions increase with temperature, more so for heterotrophs than for autotrophs. Steady warming during MECO may have enhanced heterotroph (i.e., foraminiferal) metabolic rates, so that they required more nutrients. These additional nutrients were not available because of the oligotrophic conditions in the region and the lesser response of primary producers to warming. The combination of warming and heterotroph starvation altered pelagic food webs, increased water column recycling of organic carbon, and decreased the amount of organic carbon available to the benthos.

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Carbon sequestration during the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum by an efficient biological pump

Cited by 99 publications

References 46 publications

Was the Arctic Eocene ‘rainforest’ monsoonal? Estimates of seasonal precipitation from early Eocene megafloras from Ellesmere Island, Nunavut

Was the Arctic Eocene ‘rainforest’ monsoonal? Estimates of seasonal precipitation from early Eocene megafloras from Ellesmere Island, Nunavut

An abyssal carbonate compensation depth overshoot in the aftermath of the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum

The middle Eocene climatic optimum (MECO): A multiproxy record of paleoceanographic changes in the southeast Atlantic (ODP Site 1263, Walvis Ridge)

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