Revisiting the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum “Carbon Cycle Conundrum” With New Estimates of Atmospheric pCO₂ From Boron Isotopes

Abstract

Abstract The Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum (MECO) was a gradual warming event and carbon cycle perturbation that occurred between 40.5 and 40.1 Ma. A number of characteristics, including greater‐than‐expected deep‐sea carbonate dissolution, a lack of globally coherent negative δ 13 C excursion in marine carbonates, a duration longer than the characteristic timescale of carbon cycle recovery, and the absence of a clear trigger mechanism, challenge our current understanding of the Earth system and its regulatory feedbacks. This makes the MECO one of the most enigmatic events in the Cenozoic, dubbed a middle Eocene “carbon cycle conundrum.” Here we use boron isotopes in planktic foraminifera to better constrain pCO 2 changes over the event. Over the MECO itself, we find that pCO 2 rose by only 0.55–0.75 doublings, thus requiring a much more modest carbon injection than previously indicated by the alkenone δ 13 C‐pCO 2 proxy. In addition, this rise in pCO 2 was focused around the peak of the 400 kyr warming trend. Before this, considerable global carbonate δ 18 O change was asynchronous with any coherent ocean pH (and hence pCO 2 ) excursion. This finding suggests that middle Eocene climate (and perhaps a nascent cryosphere) was highly sensitive to small changes in radiative forcing.