Tertiary marine paleotemperatures

Abstract

Research Article| November 01, 1975 Tertiary marine paleotemperatures SAMUEL M. SAVIN; SAMUEL M. SAVIN 1Department of Earth Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar ROBERT G. DOUGLAS; ROBERT G. DOUGLAS 1Department of Earth Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 441062Present address: Department of Geological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90007. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar FRANCIS G. STEHLI FRANCIS G. STEHLI 1Department of Earth Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information SAMUEL M. SAVIN 1Department of Earth Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106 ROBERT G. DOUGLAS 1Department of Earth Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 441062Present address: Department of Geological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90007. FRANCIS G. STEHLI 1Department of Earth Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106 Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2674 Print ISSN: 0016-7606 Geological Society of America GSA Bulletin (1975) 86 (11): 1499–1510. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1975)86<1499:TMP>2.0.CO;2 Article history First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation SAMUEL M. SAVIN, ROBERT G. DOUGLAS, FRANCIS G. STEHLI; Tertiary marine paleotemperatures. GSA Bulletin 1975;; 86 (11): 1499–1510. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1975)86<1499:TMP>2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract Oxygen isotopic compositions of the tests of planktonic foraminifera from several Deep Sea Drilling Project sites provide a general picture of low-latitude marine temperatures from Maastrichtian time to the present. Bottom temperatures determined from the isotopic compositions of benthonic foraminifera are interpreted as being indicative of high-latitude surface temperatures. Prior to the beginning of middle Miocene time, high- and low-latitude temperatures changed in parallel fashion. Following an apparently small and short-lived drop in temperature near the Tertiary-Cretaceous boundary, temperatures remained warm and relatively constant through Paleocene and early and middle Eocene time; bottom temperatures then were on the order of 12°C. A sharp temperature drop in late Eocene time was followed by a more gradual lowering of temperature, culminating in a late Oligocene high-latitude temperature minimum of about 4°C. A temperature rise through early Miocene time was followed in middle Miocene time by a sudden divergence of high- and low-latitude temperatures: high-latitude temperatures dropped dramatically, perhaps corresponding to the onset of major glaciation in Antarctica, but low-latitude temperatures remained constant or perhaps increased. This uncoupling of high-and low-latitude temperatures is postulated to be related to the establishment of a circum-Antarctic circulation similar to that of today. A further drop in high-latitude temperatures in late Pliocene time probably signaled the onset of a major increase in polar glaciation, including extensive sea-ice formation.Early Miocene, small-amplitude (1 per mil) sympathetic fluctuations in isotopic compositions of planktonic and benthonic foraminifera have been identified. These have a period of several hundred thousand years. Superimposed upon these are much more rapid and smaller fluctuations (0.2 to 0.5 per mil) with a period of about 80,000 to 90,000 yr. This is similar to the period observed for Pleistocene isotopic temperature fluctuations.In low latitudes, much smaller vertical temperature gradients seem to have existed during Maastrichtian and Paleogene time than exist at present. The absence of a sharply defined thermocline during early Tertiary time is also suggested. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.