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A humid climate state during the Palaeocene/Eocene thermal maximum

Nature volume 432, pages 495–499 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

An abrupt climate warming of 5 to 10 °C during the Palaeocene/Eocene boundary thermal maximum (PETM) 55 Myr ago is linked to the catastrophic release of ∼1,050–2,100 Gt of carbon from sea-floor methane hydrate reservoirs1. Although atmospheric methane, and the carbon dioxide derived from its oxidation, probably contributed to PETM warming, neither the magnitude nor the timing of the climate change is consistent with direct greenhouse forcing by the carbon derived from methane hydrate. Here we demonstrate significant differences between marine2,3 and terrestrial4,5,6 carbon isotope records spanning the PETM. We use models of key carbon cycle processes7,8,9 to identify the cause of these differences. Our results provide evidence for a previously unrecognized discrete shift in the state of the climate system during the PETM, characterized by large increases in mid-latitude tropospheric humidity and enhanced cycling of carbon through terrestrial ecosystems. A more humid atmosphere helps to explain PETM temperatures, but the ultimate mechanisms underlying the shift remain unknown.

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Figure 1: Marine and terrestrial records of the PETM, correlated to an age model for ODP site 690 (ref. 13, see Supplementary Information).
Figure 2: Results from soil carbon model runs.
Figure 3: Photosynthetic 13C-discrimination by tropical evergreen C3 plants.

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Acknowledgements

We thank W. Cheng, G. Dickens, D. Schrag, L. Sloan and F. I. Woodward for comments. Funding was provided by a National Science Foundation Biocomplexity grant. G.J.B. was supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program, and D.J.B. gratefully acknowledges funding from the Royal Society and the Leverhulme Trust.

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Author notes

  1. Gabriel J. Bowen

    Present address: Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84112, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Earth Sciences Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, 95064, USA

    Gabriel J. Bowen, Paul L. Koch, James C. Zachos & Thomas Quattlebaum

  2. Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, S10 2TN, Sheffield, UK

    David J. Beerling

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Correspondence to Gabriel J. Bowen.

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Supplementary information

Supplementary Notes

Contains Supplementary Methods and calculations. (PDF 134 kb)

Supplementary Table 1

Contains Supplementary Table summarizing the results of mass balance calculations of the PETM carbonate ion effect. (PDF 47 kb)

Supplementary Table 2

Contains Supplementary Table summarizing the results of paleosol organic carbon concentration measurements. (PDF 51 kb)

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Bowen, G., Beerling, D., Koch, P. et al. A humid climate state during the Palaeocene/Eocene thermal maximum. Nature 432, 495–499 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03115

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