Temperature and salinity changes associated with the Paleocene-Eocene Carbon Isotope Excursion along the mid Atlantic margin

Abstract:

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) was an abrupt warming event, characterized by a global temperature increase of about 5-8°C and associated with the Carbon Isotope Excursion (CIE) of ~2.5-4‰ in marine environments. Here we evaluate temperature and salinity changes across the Paleocene/Eocene boundary in the Millville New Jersey coastal plain core (ODP Leg 174AX) using two independent temperature proxies (the organic paleothermometer TEX₈₆ and Mg/Ca ratio of planktonic foraminifera) and δ¹⁸O of planktonic foraminifera. Paleotemperature estimates show warming of 5-7°C during the CIE, though different temperature calibrations provide a broad range of absolute temperatures. We argue that the temperature calibration of TEX^L ₈₆ provides the best temperature estimate (warming from 23°C to 30°C) because it is the only one that yields realistic salinities, whereas the TEX^H ₈₆ calibration yields extremely high sea surface salinities (~48 psu in the latest Paleocene). In contrast to the previous studies, use of the correct calibration effectively eliminates any temperature increase prior to the CIE suggesting that temperature was not the trigger for the massive release of carbon. A salinity decrease of at least ~4 psu was associated with the onset of the CIE/PETM. This implies freshening of surface and thermocline waters supports the hypothesis of an enhanced hydrological cycle. We conclude that our results are consistent with the hypothesis of Appalachian Amazon river system development and increased river runoff to the New Jersey continental margin during the PETM.