TY - JOUR
T1 - Terrestrial and marginal-marine record of the mid-Cretaceous Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 (OAE 2)
T2 - High-resolution framework, carbon isotopes, CO 2 and sea-level change
AU - Laurin, Jiří
AU - Barclay, Richard S.
AU - Sageman, Bradley B.
AU - Dawson, Robin R.
AU - Pagani, Mark
AU - Schmitz, Mark
AU - Eaton, Jeffrey
AU - McInerney, Francesca A.
AU - McElwain, Jennifer C.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2019/6/15
Y1 - 2019/6/15
N2 - Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 (OAE2; c. 94.5–93.9 Ma) offers insight into the mechanisms of past climate change linked to organic productivity and carbon sequestration. It has been studied extensively, but the vast majority of data come from marine records, thus providing an incomplete view of past climate dynamics. Here we integrate new high-resolution data and published records on depositional environments, the carbon-isotope composition of bulk organic carbon (δ 13 C org ) and plant cuticles (δ 13 C cut ), and stomatal-index values, a proxy for pCO 2 , in well-preserved terrestrial through marginal-marine archives of the initial phase of OAE2. The study area is located on the western margin of the Western Interior Seaway (southwestern Utah). Age constraints are based on a new U-Pb bentonite age and correlation to an orbitally calibrated interval of the Bridge Creek Limestone. n-Alkane abundance suggests predominance of terrestrial contributions to bulk organic carbon for most samples. Despite similarities between carbon-isotope variations and transgressive-regressive shoreline movements, it is argued that δ 13 C org and δ 13 C cut are not strongly affected by local variables. A series of negative, ~2‰ carbon-isotope excursions is identified and attributed to changes in the size and isotopic value of the atmospheric CO 2 reservoir. The temporal spacing of these anomalies (80–120 kyr) is consistent with changes in insolation modulated by orbital eccentricity. A systematic, phase-shifted relationship between the negative carbon-isotope excursions and transgressive increments further suggests a link between carbon-cycle perturbations and meter-scale sea-level change on the 100-kyr time scale. A conceptual model involving insolation-controlled aquifer charge/discharge and biomass burial/degradation in the monsoonal belt is proposed. The framework presented here is available to facilitate further research on the interplay of terrestrial and oceanic carbon reservoirs during OAE2.
AB - Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 (OAE2; c. 94.5–93.9 Ma) offers insight into the mechanisms of past climate change linked to organic productivity and carbon sequestration. It has been studied extensively, but the vast majority of data come from marine records, thus providing an incomplete view of past climate dynamics. Here we integrate new high-resolution data and published records on depositional environments, the carbon-isotope composition of bulk organic carbon (δ 13 C org ) and plant cuticles (δ 13 C cut ), and stomatal-index values, a proxy for pCO 2 , in well-preserved terrestrial through marginal-marine archives of the initial phase of OAE2. The study area is located on the western margin of the Western Interior Seaway (southwestern Utah). Age constraints are based on a new U-Pb bentonite age and correlation to an orbitally calibrated interval of the Bridge Creek Limestone. n-Alkane abundance suggests predominance of terrestrial contributions to bulk organic carbon for most samples. Despite similarities between carbon-isotope variations and transgressive-regressive shoreline movements, it is argued that δ 13 C org and δ 13 C cut are not strongly affected by local variables. A series of negative, ~2‰ carbon-isotope excursions is identified and attributed to changes in the size and isotopic value of the atmospheric CO 2 reservoir. The temporal spacing of these anomalies (80–120 kyr) is consistent with changes in insolation modulated by orbital eccentricity. A systematic, phase-shifted relationship between the negative carbon-isotope excursions and transgressive increments further suggests a link between carbon-cycle perturbations and meter-scale sea-level change on the 100-kyr time scale. A conceptual model involving insolation-controlled aquifer charge/discharge and biomass burial/degradation in the monsoonal belt is proposed. The framework presented here is available to facilitate further research on the interplay of terrestrial and oceanic carbon reservoirs during OAE2.
KW - Carbon cycle
KW - Cenomanian
KW - Cretaceous
KW - Milankovitch cycles
KW - Orbital eccentricity
KW - Paleoclimate
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85063720128&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.03.019
DO - 10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.03.019
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85063720128
SN - 0031-0182
VL - 524
SP - 118
EP - 136
JO - Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology
JF - Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology
ER -
