Millennial-timescale thermogenic CO2 release preceding the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-1-2025
Journal / Book Title
Nature Communications
Abstract
Geologic records support a short-lived carbon release, known as the pre-onset excursion (POE), shortly before the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM; ~ 56 Ma). However, the source and pace of the POE carbon release and its relationship to the PETM remain unresolved. Here we show a high-temporal-resolution stratigraphic record spanning the POE and PETM from the eastern Tethys Ocean that documents the evolution of surface ocean carbon cycle, redox and eutrophication, confirming the global nature of the POE. Biomarkers extracted from the sedimentary record indicate a smaller environmental perturbation during the POE than that during the PETM in the eastern Tethys Ocean. Earth system modeling constrained by observed δ13C and pH data indicates that the POE was driven by a largely thermogenic CO2 source, likely associated with sill intrusions prior to the main eruption phase of the North Atlantic Igneous Province and possibly biogeochemical feedbacks involving the release of biogenic methane.
DOI
10.1038/s41467-025-60939-3
Journal ISSN / Book ISBN
105009997224 (Scopus)
MSU Digital Commons Citation
Jiang, Shijun; Cui, Ying; Wang, Yasu; De Palma, Maurizia; Naafs, B. David A.; Jiang, Jingxin; Hu, Xiumian; Wu, Huaichun; Chu, Runjian; Gu, Yangguang; Wang, Jiuyuan; Huang, Yizhou; Ingalls, Miquela; Bralower, Timothy J.; Yang, Shiling; Zachos, James C.; and Ridgwell, Andy, "Millennial-timescale thermogenic CO2 release preceding the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum" (2025). Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works. 730.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/earth-environ-studies-facpubs/730
Published Citation
Jiang, S., Cui, Y., Wang, Y., De Palma, M., Naafs, B. D. A., Jiang, J., ... & Ridgwell, A. (2025). Millennial-timescale thermogenic CO2 release preceding the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. Nature Communications, 16(1), 1-12.
Comments
This Open Access article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made.