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Deep-sea paleotemperature record of extreme warmth during the Cretaceous

Brian T. Huber, Richard D. Norris and Kenneth G. MacLeod
Deep-sea paleotemperature record of extreme warmth during the Cretaceous
Geology (Boulder) (February 2002) 30 (2): 123-126


Oxygen isotope analyses of well-preserved foraminifera from Blake Nose (30 degrees N paleolatitude, North Atlantic) and globally distributed deep-sea sites provide a long-term paleotemperature record for the late Albian-Maastrichtian interval that is difficult to reconcile with the existence of significant Cretaceous ice sheets. Given reasonable assumptions about the isotopic composition of Cretaceous seawater, our results suggest that middle bathyal water temperatures at Blake Nose increased from approximately 12 degrees C in the late Albian through middle Cenomanian to a maximum of 20 degrees C during the latest Cenomanian and earliest Turonian. Bottom waters were again approximately 12 degrees C during the middle Campanian and cooled to a minimum of 9 degrees C during the Maastrichtian. Correlative middle bathyal foraminifera from other ocean basins yield paleotemperature estimates that are very similar to those from Blake Nose. Comparison of global bottom-water temperatures and latitudinal thermal gradients suggests that global climate changed from a warm greenhouse state during the late Albian through late Cenomanian to a hot greenhouse phase during the latest Cenomanian through early Campanian, then to cool greenhouse conditions during the mid-Campanian through Maastrichtian.

ISSN: 0091-7613
EISSN: 1943-2682
Serial Title: Geology (Boulder)
Serial Volume: 30
Serial Issue: 2
Title: Deep-sea paleotemperature record of extreme warmth during the Cretaceous
Affiliation: Smithsonian Institution, Department of Paleobiology, Washington, DC, United States
Pages: 123-126
Published: 200202
Text Language: English
References: 33
Accession Number: 2002-014638
Categories: Stratigraphy
Document Type: Serial
Bibliographic Level: Analytic
Annotation: With GSA Data Repository Item 200208
Illustration Description: illus. incl. sketch map
S65°09'38" - S65°09'37", E01°12'18" - E01°12'18"
N30°06'00" - N30°06'00", W76°14'06" - W76°14'06"
S51°00'17" - S51°00'17", W46°58'18" - W46°58'18"
Secondary Affiliation: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, USA, United StatesUniversity of Missouri at Columbia, USA, United States
Country of Publication: United States
Update Code: 200206
Program Name: ODPOcean Drilling Program
Program Name: DSDPDeep Sea Drilling Project
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