Life and death in the Chicxulub impact crater: A record of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum
Thermal stress on the biosphere during the extreme warmth of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) was most severe at low latitudes, with sea surface temperatures at some localities exceeding the 35 C at which marine organisms experience heat stress. Relatively few equivalent terrestrial secti...
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
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COPERNICUS GESELLSCHAFT MBH
2020
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| Online Access: | http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP180100982 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/90124 |
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| author | Smith, V. Warny, S. Grice, Kliti Schaefer, Bettina Whalen, M.T. Vellekoop, J. Chenot, E. Gulick, S.P.S. Arenillas, I. Arz, J.A. Bauersachs, T. Bralower, T. Demory, F. Gattacceca, J. Jones, H. Lofi, J. Lowery, C.M. Morgan, J. Nuñez Otaño, N.B. O'Keefe, J.M.K. O'Malley, K. Rodríguez-Tovar, F.J. Schwark, Lorenz |
| author_facet | Smith, V. Warny, S. Grice, Kliti Schaefer, Bettina Whalen, M.T. Vellekoop, J. Chenot, E. Gulick, S.P.S. Arenillas, I. Arz, J.A. Bauersachs, T. Bralower, T. Demory, F. Gattacceca, J. Jones, H. Lofi, J. Lowery, C.M. Morgan, J. Nuñez Otaño, N.B. O'Keefe, J.M.K. O'Malley, K. Rodríguez-Tovar, F.J. Schwark, Lorenz |
| author_sort | Smith, V. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Thermal stress on the biosphere during the extreme warmth of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) was most severe at low latitudes, with sea surface temperatures at some localities exceeding the 35 C at which marine organisms experience heat stress. Relatively few equivalent terrestrial sections have been identified, and the response of land plants to this extreme heat is still poorly understood. Here, we present a new record of the PETM from the peak ring of the Chicxulub impact crater that has been identified based on nannofossil biostratigraphy, an acme of the dinoflagellate genus Apectodinium, and a negative carbon isotope excursion. Geochemical and microfossil proxies show that the PETM is marked by elevated TEXH 86-based sea surface temperatures (SSTs) averaging 37:8 C, an in- crease in terrestrial input and surface productivity, salinity stratification, and bottom water anoxia, with biomarkers for green and purple sulfur bacteria indicative of photic zone euxinia in the early part of the event. Pollen and plants spores in this core provide the first PETM floral assemblage described from Mexico, Central America, and the northern Caribbean. The source area was a diverse coastal shrubby tropical forest with a remarkably high abundance of fungal spores, indicating humid conditions. Thus, while seafloor anoxia devastated the benthic marine biota and dinoflagellate assemblages were heat-stressed, the terrestrial plant ecosystem thrived. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:33:33Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-90124 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:33:33Z |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| publisher | COPERNICUS GESELLSCHAFT MBH |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-901242023-02-10T08:02:02Z Life and death in the Chicxulub impact crater: A record of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum Smith, V. Warny, S. Grice, Kliti Schaefer, Bettina Whalen, M.T. Vellekoop, J. Chenot, E. Gulick, S.P.S. Arenillas, I. Arz, J.A. Bauersachs, T. Bralower, T. Demory, F. Gattacceca, J. Jones, H. Lofi, J. Lowery, C.M. Morgan, J. Nuñez Otaño, N.B. O'Keefe, J.M.K. O'Malley, K. Rodríguez-Tovar, F.J. Schwark, Lorenz Science & Technology Physical Sciences Geosciences, Multidisciplinary Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences Geology SEA-SURFACE TEMPERATURE TETRAETHER LIPIDS LATEST PALEOCENE MEMBRANE-LIPIDS ORGANIC-MATTER PROXY DATA CLIMATE TEX86 SEDIMENTS OCEAN Thermal stress on the biosphere during the extreme warmth of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) was most severe at low latitudes, with sea surface temperatures at some localities exceeding the 35 C at which marine organisms experience heat stress. Relatively few equivalent terrestrial sections have been identified, and the response of land plants to this extreme heat is still poorly understood. Here, we present a new record of the PETM from the peak ring of the Chicxulub impact crater that has been identified based on nannofossil biostratigraphy, an acme of the dinoflagellate genus Apectodinium, and a negative carbon isotope excursion. Geochemical and microfossil proxies show that the PETM is marked by elevated TEXH 86-based sea surface temperatures (SSTs) averaging 37:8 C, an in- crease in terrestrial input and surface productivity, salinity stratification, and bottom water anoxia, with biomarkers for green and purple sulfur bacteria indicative of photic zone euxinia in the early part of the event. Pollen and plants spores in this core provide the first PETM floral assemblage described from Mexico, Central America, and the northern Caribbean. The source area was a diverse coastal shrubby tropical forest with a remarkably high abundance of fungal spores, indicating humid conditions. Thus, while seafloor anoxia devastated the benthic marine biota and dinoflagellate assemblages were heat-stressed, the terrestrial plant ecosystem thrived. 2020 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/90124 10.5194/cp-16-1889-2020 English http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP180100982 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ COPERNICUS GESELLSCHAFT MBH fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Science & Technology Physical Sciences Geosciences, Multidisciplinary Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences Geology SEA-SURFACE TEMPERATURE TETRAETHER LIPIDS LATEST PALEOCENE MEMBRANE-LIPIDS ORGANIC-MATTER PROXY DATA CLIMATE TEX86 SEDIMENTS OCEAN Smith, V. Warny, S. Grice, Kliti Schaefer, Bettina Whalen, M.T. Vellekoop, J. Chenot, E. Gulick, S.P.S. Arenillas, I. Arz, J.A. Bauersachs, T. Bralower, T. Demory, F. Gattacceca, J. Jones, H. Lofi, J. Lowery, C.M. Morgan, J. Nuñez Otaño, N.B. O'Keefe, J.M.K. O'Malley, K. Rodríguez-Tovar, F.J. Schwark, Lorenz Life and death in the Chicxulub impact crater: A record of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum |
| title | Life and death in the Chicxulub impact crater: A record of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum |
| title_full | Life and death in the Chicxulub impact crater: A record of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum |
| title_fullStr | Life and death in the Chicxulub impact crater: A record of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum |
| title_full_unstemmed | Life and death in the Chicxulub impact crater: A record of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum |
| title_short | Life and death in the Chicxulub impact crater: A record of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum |
| title_sort | life and death in the chicxulub impact crater: a record of the paleocene-eocene thermal maximum |
| topic | Science & Technology Physical Sciences Geosciences, Multidisciplinary Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences Geology SEA-SURFACE TEMPERATURE TETRAETHER LIPIDS LATEST PALEOCENE MEMBRANE-LIPIDS ORGANIC-MATTER PROXY DATA CLIMATE TEX86 SEDIMENTS OCEAN |
| url | http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP180100982 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/90124 |