Evidence for thermohaline-circulation reversals controlled by sea-level change in the latest Cretaceous

Abstract

Research Article| August 01, 1997 Evidence for thermohaline-circulation reversals controlled by sea-level change in the latest Cretaceous Enriqueta Barrera; Enriqueta Barrera 1Department of Geology, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio 44325 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Samuel M. Savin; Samuel M. Savin 2Department of Geological Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Ellen Thomas; Ellen Thomas 3Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut 06459, and Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Charles E. Jones Charles E. Jones 4Department of Geology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Enriqueta Barrera 1Department of Geology, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio 44325 Samuel M. Savin 2Department of Geological Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106 Ellen Thomas 3Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut 06459, and Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511 Charles E. Jones 4Department of Geology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599 Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (1997) 25 (8): 715–718. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1997)025<0715:EFTCRC>2.3.CO;2 Article history 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 Enriqueta Barrera, Samuel M. Savin, Ellen Thomas, Charles E. Jones; Evidence for thermohaline-circulation reversals controlled by sea-level change in the latest Cretaceous. Geology 1997;; 25 (8): 715–718. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1997)025<0715:EFTCRC>2.3.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 Fluctuations in oxygen (δ18O) and carbon (δ13C) isotope values of benthic foraminiferal calcite from the tropical Pacific and Southern Oceans indicate rapid reversals in the dominant mode and direction of the thermohaline circulation during a 1 m.y. interval (71–70 Ma) in the Maastrichtian. At the onset of this change, benthic foraminiferal δ18O values increased and were highest in low-latitude Pacific Ocean waters, whereas benthic and planktic foraminiferal δ13C values decreased and benthic values were lowest in the Southern Ocean. Subsequently, benthic foraminiferal δ18O values in the Indo-Pacific decreased, and benthic and planktic δ13C values increased globally. These isotopic patterns suggest that cool intermediate-depth waters, derived from high-latitude regions, penetrated temporarily to the tropics. The low benthic δ13C values at the Southern Ocean sites, however, suggest that these cool waters may have been derived from high northern rather than high southern latitudes. Correlation with eustatic sea-level curves suggests that sea-level change was the most likely mechanism to change the circulation and/or source(s) of intermediate-depth waters. We thus propose that oceanic circulation during the latest Cretaceous was vigorous and that competing sources of intermediate- and deep-water formation, linked to changes in climate and sea level, may have alternated in importance. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.