HR: 11:20h
AN: PP22A-05 INVITED    [Abstracts]
TI: Pole-to-pole sea surface temperatures from the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum using organic and inorganic paleothermometers: the ultimate test case for climate models
AU: * Sluijs, A
EM: A.Sluijs@uu.nl
AF: Palaeoecology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Utrecht University, Laboratory of Palaeobotany and Palynology, Budapestlaan 4, Utrecht, 3584CD, Netherlands
AU: Schouten, S
EM: schouten@nioz.nl
AF: Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), Department of Marine Biogeochemistry and Toxicology, PO Box 59, Den Burgh, Texel, 1790AB, Netherlands
AU: Zachos, J C
EM: jzachos@emerald.ucsc.edu
AF: Earth Sciences Department, University of California at Santa Cruz, University of California at Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, United States
AU: Bijl, P K
EM: p.k.bijl@students.uu.nl
AF: Palaeoecology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Utrecht University, Laboratory of Palaeobotany and Palynology, Budapestlaan 4, Utrecht, 3584CD, Netherlands
AU: Reichart, G
EM: reichart@geo.uu.nl
AF: Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Budapestlaan 4, Utrecht, 3584CD, Netherlands
AU: Sinninghe Damsté, J S
EM: damste@nioz.nl
AF: Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), Department of Marine Biogeochemistry and Toxicology, PO Box 59, Den Burgh, Texel, 1790AB, Netherlands
AU: Sinninghe Damsté, J S
EM: damste@nioz.nl
AF: Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Budapestlaan 4, Utrecht, 3584CD, Netherlands
AU: Huber, M
EM: huberm@purdue.edu
AF: Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Purdue University, Purdue Climate Change Research Center, West Lafayette, IN 47907, United States
AU: Pearson, P N
EM: Paul.Pearson@earth.cf.ac.uk
AF: School of Earth, Ocean and Planetary Sciences, Cardiff University, Main Building, Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3YE, United Kingdom
AU: Brinkhuis, H
EM: h.brinkhuis@uu.nl
AF: Palaeoecology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Utrecht University, Laboratory of Palaeobotany and Palynology, Budapestlaan 4, Utrecht, 3584CD, Netherlands
AB: The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum was a short-lived (about 170 kyr) episode of globally elevated temperatures, superimposed on already warm late Paleocene – early Eocene greenhouse climates. Recent application of the relatively new organic paleothermometer TEX₈₆ as well as oxygen isotope analyses on well-preserved foraminifera on marginal marine PETM sections has allowed direct comparison of absolute sea surface temperature (SST) reconstructions by independent proxies. These records show relatively good correspondence, suggesting they are both suitable to reconstruct late Paleocene and early Eocene absolute SSTs. Both low- and high-latitude temperatures were (much) warmer than at present, consistent with biogeographical patterns, but the difference between high- and low latitude temperatures was extremely low. Current generation fully coupled climate models fed with early Paleogene boundary conditions indeed predict warming on a global scale with higher CO₂ concentrations. However, meridional temperature gradients remain structurally overestimated in the models, implying that important feedbacks during greenhouse climates are not (correctly) implemented in the climate models. Moreover, temperatures during the PETM, rose by 5 to 8 ° C on a global scale (in the absence of ice-albedo feedbacks), thus not showing significant polar amplification. This suggests that the mechanism that caused the reduced meridional temperature gradient was not amplified during the PETM.
DE: 1055 Organic and biogenic geochemistry
DE: 4928 Global climate models (1626, 3337)
DE: 4930 Greenhouse gases
DE: 4948 Paleocene/Eocene thermal maximum
DE: 4954 Sea surface temperature
SC: Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology [PP]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting