Access

Letter

Nature Geoscience 2, 576–580 (1 August 2009) | doi:10.1038/ngeo578

Carbon dioxide forcing alone insufficient to explain Palaeocene|[ndash]|Eocene Thermal Maximum warming

Richard E. Zeebe , James C. Zachos & Gerald R. Dickens

The Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (about 55|[thinsp]|Myr|[thinsp]|ago) represents a possible analogue for the future and thus may provide insight into climate system sensitivity and feedbacks. The key feature of this event is the release of a large mass of 13C-depleted carbon into the carbon reservoirs at the Earth|[rsquo]|s surface, although the source remains an open issue.