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Originally published in Science Express on 23 October 2003
Science 28 November 2003:
Vol. 302. no. 5650, pp. 1551 - 1554
DOI: 10.1126/science.1090110
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Reports

A Transient Rise in Tropical Sea Surface Temperature During the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum

James C. Zachos,1* Michael W. Wara,1 Steven Bohaty,1 Margaret L. Delaney,1 Maria Rose Petrizzo,2 Amanda Brill,3 Timothy J. Bralower,4 Isabella Premoli-Silva2

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) has been attributed to a rapid rise in greenhouse gas levels. If so, warming should have occurred at all latitudes, although amplified toward the poles. Existing records reveal an increase in high-latitude sea surface temperatures (SSTs) (8° to 10°C) and in bottom water temperatures (4° to 5°C). To date, however, the character of the tropical SST response during this event remains unconstrained. Here we address this deficiency by using paired oxygen isotope and minor element (magnesium/calcium) ratios of planktonic foraminifera from a tropical Pacific core to estimate changes in SST. Using mixed-layer foraminifera, we found that the combined proxies imply a 4° to 5°C rise in Pacific SST during the PETM. These results would necessitate a rise in atmospheric pCO2 to levels three to four times as high as those estimated for the late Paleocene.

1 Earth and Ocean Sciences Departments, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA.
2 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra "Ardito Desio," Universita' degli Studi di Milano, via Mangiagalli 34, Milano 20133, Italy.
3 Department of Geological Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
4 Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jzachos{at}es.ucsc.edu

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