Astronomical calibration of the geological timescale: closing the middle Eocene gap
Astronomical calibration of the geological timescale: closing the middle Eocene gap
To explore cause and consequences of past climate change, very accurate age models such as those provided by the astronomical timescale (ATS) are needed. Beyond 40 million years the accuracy of the ATS critically depends on the correctness of orbital models and radioisotopic dating techniques. Discrepancies in the age dating of sedimentary successions and the lack of suitable records spanning the middle Eocene have prevented development of a continuous astronomically calibrated geological timescale for the entire Cenozoic Era. We now solve this problem by constructing an independent astrochronological stratigraphy based on Earth's stable 405 kyr eccentricity cycle between 41 and 48 million years ago (Ma) with new data from deep-sea sedimentary sequences in the South Atlantic Ocean. This new link completes the Paleogene astronomical timescale and confirms the intercalibration of radioisotopic and astronomical dating methods back through the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, 55.930 Ma) and the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary (66.022 Ma). Coupling of the Paleogene 405 kyr cyclostratigraphic frameworks across the middle Eocene further paves the way for extending the ATS into the Mesozoic.
1181-1195
Westerhold, T.
89fa20ad-d5fc-4f89-9e86-076156510286
Röhl, U.
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Frederichs, T.
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Bohaty, S.M.
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Zachos, J.C.
2b8451ab-989c-4519-ad8f-208df1fba6eb
23 September 2015
Westerhold, T.
89fa20ad-d5fc-4f89-9e86-076156510286
Röhl, U.
e3029111-f8cc-4bf9-9433-829590c8645d
Frederichs, T.
2eff8a1a-fafd-48bf-82cf-c3521ccb4d40
Bohaty, S.M.
af9dbe78-8b9f-44f2-ba1d-20795837d2d1
Zachos, J.C.
2b8451ab-989c-4519-ad8f-208df1fba6eb
Westerhold, T., Röhl, U., Frederichs, T., Bohaty, S.M. and Zachos, J.C.
(2015)
Astronomical calibration of the geological timescale: closing the middle Eocene gap.
Climate of the Past, 11 (9), .
(doi:10.5194/cp-11-1181-2015).
Abstract
To explore cause and consequences of past climate change, very accurate age models such as those provided by the astronomical timescale (ATS) are needed. Beyond 40 million years the accuracy of the ATS critically depends on the correctness of orbital models and radioisotopic dating techniques. Discrepancies in the age dating of sedimentary successions and the lack of suitable records spanning the middle Eocene have prevented development of a continuous astronomically calibrated geological timescale for the entire Cenozoic Era. We now solve this problem by constructing an independent astrochronological stratigraphy based on Earth's stable 405 kyr eccentricity cycle between 41 and 48 million years ago (Ma) with new data from deep-sea sedimentary sequences in the South Atlantic Ocean. This new link completes the Paleogene astronomical timescale and confirms the intercalibration of radioisotopic and astronomical dating methods back through the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, 55.930 Ma) and the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary (66.022 Ma). Coupling of the Paleogene 405 kyr cyclostratigraphic frameworks across the middle Eocene further paves the way for extending the ATS into the Mesozoic.
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Accepted/In Press date: 7 September 2015
Published date: 23 September 2015
Organisations:
Paleooceanography & Palaeoclimate
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 383877
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/383877
ISSN: 1814-9332
PURE UUID: c178d055-2fbe-400e-ab7f-fcbd1e9ccc64
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Date deposited: 10 Nov 2015 15:27
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:27
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Author:
T. Westerhold
Author:
U. Röhl
Author:
T. Frederichs
Author:
J.C. Zachos
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