Effects of ancient carbon releases suggest possible scenarios for future climate
A massive release of greenhouse gases, likely triggered by volcanic activity, caused a period of extreme global warming known as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum about 56 million years ago. A new study now confirms that the PETM was preceded by a smaller episode of warming and ocean acidification caused by a shorter burst of carbon emissions.
The new findings are based on an analysis of marine sediments that were deposited in shallow waters along the U.S. Atlantic coast and are now part of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. At the time of the PETM, sea levels were higher, and much of Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey were under water. The U.S. Geological Survey has drilled sediment cores from this region which the researchers used for the study.
Evidence of a precursor warming event had been identified previously in sediments from the continental section at Big Horn Basin in Wyoming and a few other sites. Whether it was a global signal remained unclear, however, as it was absent from deep-sea sediment cores. Zachos said this makes sense because sedimentation rates in the deep ocean are slow, and the signal from a short-lived event would be lost due to mixing of sediments by bottom-dwelling marine life.
Based on their analyses, the team concluded that the precursor signal in the Maryland sections represents a global event that probably lasted for a few centuries, or possibly several millennia at most.
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