Transient global cooling at the onset of early Aptian oceanic anoxic event (OAE) 1a

Abstract

The onset of the early Aptian oceanic anoxic event (OAE) 1a (ca. 120 Ma) coincided with a major perturbation of the carbon cycle, which is reflected in the sedimentary carbon isotope record. Triggering mechanisms, duration, and climatic repercussions of this episode of accelerated organic matter burial remain poorly constrained. Here, we present millennial-scale bulk rock carbon and oxygen isotope data from a marly subtropical intrashelf basin (La Bedoule, southeast France) with unusually high sedimentation rates, which track the onset of OAE1a in unprecedented resolution. Our record reveals that the negative, low-amplitude delta(13)C excursion preceding OAE1a lasted >100 k.y., implying that enhanced volcanic CO(2) emission and/or pulsed methane dissociation over a prolonged time span were instrumental in triggering OAE1a. The main positive carbon isotope shift at the onset of OAE1a, previously regarded as continuous, occurred stepwise over an extended period of >300 k.y. Transient climate cooling during the initial delta(13)C increase probably reflects ephemeral high-latitude glaciation, triggered by changes in radiative forcing and drawdown of atmospheric CO(2).