Peter K. Bijl et al., Science 330 (2010), Transient Middle Eocene atmospheric CO2 and temperature variations
Science (5 November 2010), Vol. 330, No. 6005, pp. 819-821; DOI: 10.1126/science.1193654
Transient Middle Eocene atmospheric CO2 and temperature variations
- Peter K. Bijl1,*,
- Alexander J. P. Houben1,*,
- Stefan Schouten2,
- Steven M. Bohaty3,
- Appy Sluijs1,
- Gert-Jan Reichart4,
- Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté2,4 and
- Henk Brinkhuis1
- 1Biomarine Sciences, Institute of Environmental Biology, Faculty of Science, Laboratory of Palaeobotany and Palynology, Utrecht University, Budapestlaan 4, 3584 CD Utrecht, Netherlands.
- 2Department of Marine Organic Biogeochemistry, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research, Post Office Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel, Netherlands.
- 3School of Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, National Oceanography Centre, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK.
- 4Geochemistry, Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Budapestlaan 4, 3584 CD Utrecht, Netherlands.
- *Correspondence e-mail: p.k.bijl@uu.nl (P.K.B.); a.j.p.houben@uu.nl (A.J.P.H.)
Abstract
The long-term warmth of the Eocene (~56 to 34 million years ago) is commonly associated with elevated partial pressure of atmospheric carbon dioxide (pCO2). However, a direct relationship between the two has not been established for short-term climate perturbations. We reconstructed changes in both pCO2 and temperature over an episode of transient global warming called the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum (MECO; ~40 million years ago). Organic molecular paleothermometry indicates a warming of southwest Pacific sea surface temperatures (SSTs) by 3-6 °C. Reconstructions of pCO2 indicate a concomitant increase by a factor of 2 to 3. The marked consistency between SST and pCO2 trends during the MECO suggests that elevated pCO2 played a major role in global warming during the MECO.
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