In:
Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Vol. 308, No. 5728 ( 2005-06-10), p. 1611-1615
Abstract:
The Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM) has been attributed to the rapid release of ∼2000 × 10 9 metric tons of carbon in the form of methane. In theory, oxidation and ocean absorption of this carbon should have lowered deep-sea pH, thereby triggering a rapid ( 〈 10,000-year) shoaling of the calcite compensation depth (CCD), followed by gradual recovery. Here we present geochemical data from five new South Atlantic deep-sea sections that constrain the timing and extent of massive sea-floor carbonate dissolution coincident with the PETM. The sections, from between 2.7 and 4.8 kilometers water depth, are marked by a prominent clay layer, the character of which indicates that the CCD shoaled rapidly ( 〈 10,000 years) by more than 2 kilometers and recovered gradually ( 〉 100,000 years). These findings indicate that a large mass of carbon (»2000 × 10 9 metric tons of carbon) dissolved in the ocean at the Paleocene-Eocene boundary and that permanent sequestration of this carbon occurred through silicate weathering feedback.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0036-8075
,
1095-9203
DOI:
10.1126/science.1109004
Language:
English
Publisher:
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Publication Date:
2005
detail.hit.zdb_id:
128410-1
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2066996-3
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2060783-0
SSG:
11
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