Publication Date:
2012-07-01
Description:
The Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum, a transient global warming event, is characterized by extensive evidence of a more active hydrological cycle. This includes a widespread pulse of kaolinite accumulation on continental margins, viewed as the by-product of either enhanced chemical weathering consistent with much more humid conditions and/or increased erosion of previously deposited laterites. The former would be more consistent with year-round humid conditions, whereas the latter might be indicative of extreme seasonal precipitation patterns. To assess these hypotheses, we present a new high-resolution clay mineral assemblage and oxygen isotope record from Bass River, a site on the New Jersey margin (east coast of North America), which shows a sharp rise in the abundance of kaolinite beginning a few thousand years before the onset of the carbon isotope excursion (CIE). The δ18O of the
Print ISSN:
0091-7613
Electronic ISSN:
1943-2682
Topics:
Geosciences
Permalink