Publication Date:
2005-06-11
Description:
The Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM) has been attributed to the rapid release of approximately 2000 x 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 x 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.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Zachos, James C -- Rohl, Ursula -- Schellenberg, Stephen A -- Sluijs, Appy -- Hodell, David A -- Kelly, Daniel C -- Thomas, Ellen -- Nicolo, Micah -- Raffi, Isabella -- Lourens, Lucas J -- McCarren, Heather -- Kroon, Dick -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2005 Jun 10;308(5728):1611-5.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Earth Sciences Department, Earth and Marine Sciences Building, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA. jzachos@emerald.uscs.edu〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15947184" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉
Print ISSN:
0036-8075
Electronic ISSN:
1095-9203
Topics:
Biology
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Chemistry and Pharmacology
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Computer Science
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Medicine
,
Natural Sciences in General
,
Physics
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