Deep-sea paleotemperature record of extreme warmth during the Cretaceous

Abstract

Research Article| February 01, 2002 Deep-sea paleotemperature record of extreme warmth during the Cretaceous Brian T. Huber; Brian T. Huber 1Department of Paleobiology, NHB-121, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20560, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Richard D. Norris; Richard D. Norris 2Department of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Kenneth G. MacLeod Kenneth G. MacLeod 3Department of Geological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (2002) 30 (2): 123–126. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2002)030<0123:DSPROE>2.0.CO;2 Article history received: 19 Jun 2001 rev-recd: 01 Oct 2001 accepted: 17 Oct 2001 first online: 02 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 Brian T. Huber, Richard D. Norris, Kenneth G. MacLeod; Deep-sea paleotemperature record of extreme warmth during the Cretaceous. Geology 2002;; 30 (2): 123–126. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2002)030<0123:DSPROE>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 SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Oxygen isotope analyses of well-preserved foraminifera from Blake Nose (30°N paleolatitude, North Atlantic) and globally distributed deep-sea sites provide a long-term paleotemperature record for the late Albian–Maastrichtian interval that is difficult to reconcile with the existence of significant Cretaceous ice sheets. Given reasonable assumptions about the isotopic composition of Cretaceous seawater, our results suggest that middle bathyal water temperatures at Blake Nose increased from ∼12 °C in the late Albian through middle Cenomanian to a maximum of 20 °C during the latest Cenomanian and earliest Turonian. Bottom waters were again ∼12 °C during the middle Campanian and cooled to a minimum of 9 °C during the Maastrichtian. Correlative middle bathyal foraminifera from other ocean basins yield paleotemperature estimates that are very similar to those from Blake Nose. Comparison of global bottom-water temperatures and latitudinal thermal gradients suggests that global climate changed from a warm greenhouse state during the late Albian through late Cenomanian to a hot greenhouse phase during the latest Cenomanian through early Campanian, then to cool greenhouse conditions during the mid-Campanian through Maastrichtian. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.