Palaeogene isotopic temperatures of western India

Abstract

Oxygen isotopic measurements of larger benthic foraminifers from western India suggest that the Palaeogene temperature varied between 22deg;C and 32deg;C in this region. The warm climate of the Palaeocene and the Early Eocene, hovering around 32°C, deteriorated in late Middle Eocene (corresponding to planktic zones P13-P14) when the temperature dropped by 6deg;C. With progressive cooling through the Late Eocene, the temperature reached 22deg;C during Early Oligocene times. The cooling trend set in the Middle Eocene seems to have been terminated towards the end of the Palaeogene when the temperature rose to 25°C. □Palaeotemperature, Palaeogene, oxygen isotopes, larger foraminifiers, India.