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Palaeoceanographic change in the Pacific at the Eocene–Oligocene boundary

Nature volume 287, pages 722–725 (1980)Cite this article

Abstract

Oxygen isotopic studies both of benthic formanifera1–5 and shallow-marine carbonates6–8 have provided a useful monitor of marine palaeotemperatures. The Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) has provided cores from many ocean basins to conduct detailed stable isotopic and palaeoceanographic studies of the Cenozoic and late Mesozoic. DSDP Sites 277 and 292, separated by ∼60° latitude in Palaeogene times, each record an 18O enrichment in benthic foraminifera of nearly 1‰ beginning at the Eocene–Oligocene boundary. Planktonic foraminiferal trends are similar to benthic trends in the high latitude southwest Pacific Ocean, but tropical planktonics show only a minor (∼0.3‰) increase which may reflect a change in seawater composition. These results suggest a sudden cooling of Pacific deep waters and high latitude surface waters forms a useful stratigraphic marker for the Eocene–Oligocene boundary. This boundary is particularly important because of its association with several worldwide palaeo-oceanographic and biogeographic changes. These include a sudden drop in the calcite compensation depth of 1–2 km (refs 9, 10); a decrease in planktonic microfossil diversity11–13; a change in planktonic biogeographic patterns12–14; and increased erosion of deep-sea sediments over wide areas15,16.

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  1. Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island, 02881

    L. D. Keigwin Jr

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Keigwin, L. Palaeoceanographic change in the Pacific at the Eocene–Oligocene boundary. Nature 287, 722–725 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1038/287722a0

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