Henehan, Michael J., Edgar, Kirsty M., Foster, Gavin, Penman, Donald E., Hull, Pincelli M., Greenop, Rosanna, Anagnostou, Eleni and Pearson, Paul N. (2020) Revisiting the Middle Eocene climatic optimum ‘Carbon Cycle Conundrum’ with new estimates of atmospheric pCO2 from boron isotopes. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology. (In Press)
Abstract
The Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum (MECO) was a gradual warming event and carbon cycle perturbation that occurred between 40.5 and 40.1 Ma. A number of characteristics, including greater-than-expected deep-sea carbonate dissolution, a lack of globally-coherent negative δ 13 40 C excursion in marine carbonates, a duration longer than the characteristic timescale of carbon-cycle recovery, and the absence of a clear trigger mechanism, challenge our current understanding of the Earth system and its regulatory feedbacks. This makes the MECO one of the most enigmatic events in the Cenozoic, dubbed a middle Eocene ‘carbon cycle conundrum’. Here we use boron isotopes in planktic foraminifera to better constrain pCO2 changes over the event. Over the MECO itself, we find that pCO2 rose by only 0.55-0.75 doublings, thus requiring a much more modest carbon injection than previously indicated by the alkenone δ 13 C-pCO2 proxy. In addition, this rise in pCO2 was focused around the peak of the 400 kyr warming trend. Before this, considerable global carbonate δ 18 O change was asynchronous with any coherent ocean pH (and hence pCO2) excursion. This finding suggests that middle Eocene climate (and perhaps a nascent cryosphere) was highly sensitive to small changes in radiative forcing.
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- Current Faculties > Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences > School of Ocean and Earth Science > Geochemistry
School of Ocean and Earth Science > Geochemistry - Faculties (pre 2018 reorg) > Faculty of Engineering and the Environment (pre 2018 reorg) > Southampton Marine & Maritime Institute (pre 2018 reorg)
- Faculties (pre 2018 reorg) > Faculty of Natural and Environmental Sciences (pre 2018 reorg) > Institute for Life Sciences (pre 2018 reorg)
Current Faculties > Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences > Institute for Life Sciences > Institute for Life Sciences (pre 2018 reorg)
Institute for Life Sciences > Institute for Life Sciences (pre 2018 reorg) - Faculties (pre 2018 reorg) > Faculty of Natural and Environmental Sciences (pre 2018 reorg) > Ocean and Earth Science (pre 2018 reorg)
Current Faculties > Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences > School of Ocean and Earth Science > Ocean and Earth Science (pre 2018 reorg)
School of Ocean and Earth Science > Ocean and Earth Science (pre 2018 reorg) - Current Faculties > Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences > School of Ocean and Earth Science
School of Ocean and Earth Science
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