Tropical sea temperatures in the high-latitude South Pacific during the Eocene
Abstract
Sea-surface temperature (SST) estimates of ~30 °C from planktic foraminifera and archaeal membrane lipids in bathyal sediments in the Canterbury Basin, New Zealand, support paleontological evidence for a warm subtropical to tropical climate in the early Eocene high-latitude (55°S) southwest Pacific. Such warm SSTs call into question previous estimates based on oxygen isotopes and present a major challenge to climate modelers. Even under hypergreenhouse conditions (2240 ppm CO2), modeled summer SSTs for the New Zealand region do not exceed 20 °C.
Date of this Version
2009
DOI
10.1130/G25200A.
Repository Citation
Hollis, Christopher J.; Handley, Like; Crouch, Erica M.; Morgans, Hugh E. G.; Baker, Joel A.; Creech, John; Collins, Katie S.; Gibbs, Samantha J.; Huber, Matthew; Schouten, Stefan; and Zachos, James C., "Tropical sea temperatures in the high-latitude South Pacific during the Eocene" (2009). Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Faculty Publications. Paper 56.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/G25200A.
Volume
37
Issue
2
Pages
99-102
Link Out to Full Text
http://geology.geoscienceworld.org/content/37/2/99