Geochemical and climatic effects of increased marine organic carbon burial at the Cenomanian/Turonian boundary
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Abstract
Perhaps the most significant event in the Cretaceous record of the carbon isotope composition of carbonate1,2, other than the 1–2.5 ‰ negative shift in the carbon isotope composition of calcareous plankton at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary3, is the rapid global positive excursion of ∼2 ‰ (13C enrichment) which took place between ∼91.5 Myr and 90.3 Myr (late Cenomanian to earliest Turonian (C/T boundary event))1,4,5. This excursion has been attributed to a change in the isotope composition of the marine total dissolved carbon (TDC) reservoir resulting from an increase in rate of burial of 13C-depleted organic carbon, which coincided with a major global rise in sea level5 during the so-called C/T oceanic anoxic event (OAE)6. Here we present new data, from nine localities, which demonstrate that a positive excursion in the carbon isotope composition of organic carbon at or near the C/T boundary7,8 is nearly synchronous with that for carbonate and is widespread throughout the Tethys and Atlantic basins (Fig. 1), as well as in more high-latitude epicontinental seas. The postulated increase in the rate of burial of organic carbon may have had a significant effect on CO2 and O2 concentrations in the oceans and atmosphere, and consequent effects on global climate and sedimentary facies.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Geochemical and climatic effects of increased marine organic carbon burial at the Cenomanian/Turonian boundary |
| Series title | Nature |
| DOI | 10.1038/335714a0 |
| Volume | 335 |
| Issue | 6192 |
| Year Published | 1988 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Springer Nature |
| Description | 4 p. |
| First page | 714 |
| Last page | 717 |