Abstract
Earth surface temperatures, including in the deep sea increased by 5–10°C from the late Paleocene ca. 58 Myr ago to the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO) centered at about 51 Myr ago. A large (∼2.5‰) drop in δ13C of carbonate spans much of this interval. This suggests a long‐term increase in the net flux of13C‐depleted carbon to the ocean and atmosphere that is difficult to explain by changes in surficial carbon cycling alone. We reveal a relationship between surface temperature increase and increased petroleum generation in sedimentary basins operating on 100 kyr to Myr time scales. We propose that early Eocene warming has led to a synchronization of periods of maximum petroleum generation and enhanced generation in otherwise unproductive basins through extension of the volume of source rock within the oil and gas window across hundreds of sedimentary basins globally. Modelling the thermal evolution of four sedimentary basins in the southwest Pacific predicted an up to 50% increase in petroleum generation that would have significantly increased leakage of light hydrocarbons and oil degeneration products into the atmosphere. Extrapolating our modelling results to hundreds of sedimentary basins worldwide suggests that globally increased leakage could have caused a climate feedback effect, driving or enhancing early Eocene climate warming.
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