Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

High sea-surface temperatures during the Early Cretaceous Epoch

Subjects

Abstract

The Early Cretaceous Epoch, about 145–100 million years ago, is generally thought of as a greenhouse period, with high atmospheric CO2 concentrations1 and high global mean temperatures2. But evidence for episodes of cooler conditions, and even transient glaciations, has been proposed3,4,5,6,7,8,9. Here we present sea-surface temperature records spanning the period from 142 to 128 million years ago (Berriasian–Barremian ages) from low and mid latitudes, reconstructed using the TEX86 palaeotemperature proxy. During this period, we find sea-surface temperatures exceeding 32 °C at 15°–20° N and averaging 26 °C at 53° S. These temperatures substantially exceed modern temperatures at equivalent latitudes, and are incompatible with the notion of consistently cooler conditions in the earliest Cretaceous. Moreover, we find little variability in the sea-surface temperature records, even during the Valanginian carbon-isotope excursion 138–135 million years ago, which was thought to be associated with marked temperature fluctuations5. We conclude that the earliest Cretaceous was characterized by a warm, stable climate, with a lower meridional temperature gradient than today.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Simplified palaeogeographic reconstruction of the Early Hauterivian (133 Myr).
Figure 2: TEX86 data.
Figure 3: Meridional temperature gradients.

References

  1. Royer, D. L., Berner, R. A. & Park, J. Climate sensitivity constrained by CO2 concentrations over the past 420 million years. Nature 446, 530–532 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Skelton, P. W., Spicer, R. A., Kelley, S. P. & Gilmour, I. in The Cretaceous World (ed. Skelton, P. W.) (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2003).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Kemper, E. Das Klima der Kreide-Zeit. Geol. Jb. A96, 5–185 (1987).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Price, G. D. The evidence and implications of polar ice during the Mesozoic. Earth Sci. Rev. 48, 183–210 (1999).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Erba, E., Bartolini, A. & Larson, R. L. Valanginian Weissert oceanic anoxic event. Geology 32:2, 149–152 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Mutterlose, J. et al. The Greenland–Norwegian Seaway: A key area for understanding Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous paleoenvironments. Paleoceanography 18, PA000625 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. McArthur, J. M. et al. Palaeotemperatures, polar ice-volume, and isotope stratigraphy (Mg/Ca, δ18O, δ13C, 87Sr/86Sr): The Early Cretaceous (Berriasian, Valanginian, Hauterivian). Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 248, 391–430 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Price, G. D., Ruffell, A. H., Jones, C. E., Kalin, R. M. & Mutterlose, J. Isotopic evidence for temperature variation during the early Cretaceous (late Ryazanian–mid-Hauterivian). J. Geol. Soc. 157, 335–343 (2000).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Kessels, K., Mutterlose, J. & Michalzik, D. Early Cretaceous (Valanginian–Hauterivian) calcareous nannofossils and isotopes of the northern hemisphere: Proxies for the understanding of Cretaceous climate. Lethaia 39, 157–172 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Erbacher, J., Huber, B. T., Norris, R. D. & Markey, M. Increased thermohaline stratification as a possible cause for an ocean anoxic event in the Cretaceous period. Nature 409, 325–327 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Mutterlose, J., Malkoc, M., Schouten, S., Sinninghe Damsté, J. S. & Forster, A. TEX86 and stable δ18O paleothermometry of Early Cretaceous sediments: Implications for belemnite ecology and paleotemperature proxy application. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 298, 286–298 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Schouten, S., Hopmans, E. C., Schefuß, E. & Sinninghe Damsté, J. S. Distributional variations in marine crenarchaeotal membrane lipids: A new tool for reconstructing ancient sea water temperatures? Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 204, 265–274 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Kim, J-H. et al. New indices and calibrations derived from the distribution of crenarchaeal isoprenoid tetraether lipids: Implications for past sea surface temperature reconstructions. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 74, 4639–4654 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Pearson, P. N. et al. Warm tropical sea surface temperatures in the Late Cretaceous and Eocene epochs. Nature 413, 481–487 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Pearson, P. N. et al. Stable warm tropical climate through the Eocene Epoch. Geology 35, 211–214 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Bornemann, A. et al. Isotopic evidence for glaciation during the Cretaceous supergreenhouse. Science 319, 189–192 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Schouten, S. et al. Extremely high sea-surface temperatures at low latitudes during the middle Cretaceous as revealed by archaeal membrane lipids. Geology 31, 1069–1072 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Huber, M. A hotter greenhouse? Science 321, 353–354 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Locarnini, R. A., Mishonov, A. V., Antonov, J. I., Boyer, T. P. & Garcia, H. E. in World Ocean Atlas 2005, Temperature Vol. 1 (ed. Levitus, S.) (NOAA Atlas NESDIS Vol. 61, US Government Printing Office, 2006).

    Google Scholar 

  20. Bijl, P. K. et al. Early Palaeogene temperature evolution of the southwest Pacific Ocean. Nature 461, 776–779 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Hollis, C. J. et al. Tropical sea temperatures in the high-latitude South Pacific during the Eocene. Geology 37, 99–102 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Zachos, J. C. et al. Extreme warming of mid-latitude coastal ocean during the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum: Inferences from TEX86 and isotope data. Geology 34, 737–740 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Bennett, M. R., Doyle, P. & Mather, A. E. Dropstones: Their origin and significance. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 121, 331–339 (1996).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Lini, A., Weissert, H. & Erba, E. The Valanginian carbon isotope event: A first episode of greenhouse climate conditions during the Cretaceous. Terra Nova 4, 374–384 (1992).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Weissert, H., Lini, A., Föllmi, K. B. & Kuhn, O. Correlation of Early Cretaceous carbon isotope stratigraphy and platform drowning events: A possible link? Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 137, 189–203 (1998).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Bornemann, A. & Mutterlose, J. Calcareous nannofossil and δ13C records from the Early Cretaceous of the western Atlantic Ocean: Evidence for enhanced fertilization across the Berriasian–Valanginian transition. Palaios 23, 821–832 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Adams, D. D., Hurtgen, M. T. & Sageman, B. B. Volcanic triggering of a biogeochemical cascade during Oceanic Anoxic Event 2. Nature Geosci. 3, 201–204 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Westermann, S. et al. The Valanginian δ13C excursion may not be an expression of a global oceanic anoxic event. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 290, 118–131 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Melinte, M. & Mutterlose, J. A Valanginian (Early Cretaceous) ‘boreal nannoplankton excursion’ in sections from Romania. Mar. Micropaleontol. 43, 1–25 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Stickley, C. E. et al. Evidence for middle Eocene Arctic sea ice from diatoms and ice-rafted debris. Nature 460, 376–379 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was funded by a NERC studentship (K.L.) and a Royal Society University Research Fellowship (S.A.R.). Samples were provided by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP). Thanks to A. Wülbers and W. Hale at the Bremen Core Repository for core sampling assistance. Thanks to K. Taylor at the Organic Geochemistry Unit, University of Bristol for generating additional organic geochemistry data.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

Core sampling was carried out by K.L. and S.A.R. TEX86 analysis was performed by K.L. with assistance from A.J.N. Carbon-isotope data was generated by K.L. with assistance from S.A.R. Organic geochemical maturation index data was generated by R.D.P. Manuscript was written by K.L., S.A.R., P.R.B. and R.D.P. The manuscript incorporates comments on content and structure from all authors.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kate Littler.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Information (PDF 582 kb)

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Information (XLS 38 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Littler, K., Robinson, S., Bown, P. et al. High sea-surface temperatures during the Early Cretaceous Epoch. Nature Geosci 4, 169–172 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1081

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1081

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing