The Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO), also referred to as the Early Eocene Thermal Maximum (EETM), [1] was a period of extremely warm greenhouse climatic conditions during the Eocene epoch. The EECO represented the hottest sustained interval of the Cenozoic era and one of the hottest periods in all of Earth's history. [2]
The EECO lasted from about 54 to 49 Ma. [1] The EECO's onset is signified by a major geochemical enrichment in isotopically light carbon, commonly known as a negative δ13C excursion, that demarcates the hyperthermal Eocene Thermal Maximum 3 (ETM3). [3]
Following some climate models, the EECO was marked by an extremely high global mean surface temperature, [1] which has been estimated to be anywhere between 23.2 and 29.7 °C, with the mean estimate being around 27.0 °C. [4] In North America, the mean annual temperature was 23.0 °C, while the continent's overall mean annual precipitation (MAP) was about 1500 mm. [2] The mean annual temperature range (MATR) of North America may have been as low as 47 °C or as high as 61 °C, while the MATR of Asia was anywhere from 51 to 60 °C. [5] The Okanagan Highlands had a moist mesothermal climate, with bioclimatic analysis of the region yielding estimates of a mean annual temperature (MAT) of 12.7-16.6 °C, a cold month mean temperature (CMMT) of 3.5-7.9 °C, and a MAP of 103-157 cm. [6] Clumped isotope measurements from the Green River Basin confirm a high seasonality of temperature, contradicting climatological predictions of an equable climate under greenhouse conditions. [7] Lake temperatures in the Green River Formation ranged from 28 °C to 35 °C. [8] Sediments from San Diego County, California record a MAP of 1100 ± 299 mm, notably drier than the region was during the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. [9] Sea surface temperatures (SSTs) off of Seymour Island were ~15 °C. [10] The high elevation areas of Asia, Africa, and Antarctica saw elevation dependent warming (EDW), while those in North America and India saw elevation dependent cooling (EDC). [11]
The latitudinal climate gradient is generally believed to have been smaller, which was mainly the result of a decrease in albedo differences across Earth's surface. [12] Although SSTs are often believed to have had a shallow latitudinal temperature gradient, this is likely to be an artefact of burial-induced oxygen isotope reequilibration in fossilised benthic foraminifera. [13]
Climate modelling simulations point to a carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere of about 1,680 ppm to reproduce the observed hothouse conditions of the EECO, [14] although geochemical proxies suggest only 700-900 ppm. [15] Stomatal density in Gingko leaves suggests pCO2 was over twice that of preindustrial levels. [16] Additionally, methane concentrations in the Early Eocene may have been significantly higher than in the present day. [17]
The nature of the hydrological cycle during the EECO is controversial. Evidence from German peat bogs suggests that it was highly variable, with alternations between aridity and humidity. [18] Hydroclimatic variability in the Gonjo Basin was predominantly controlled by orbital eccentricity cycles. [19] Evidence from North America, in contrast, suggests that the hydrological cycle was enhanced during the EECO, although it remained relatively stable, unlike during the earlier hyperthermals, and that the stable hydroclimate may ultimately have ended the EECO by enabling high rates of organic carbon burial in lacustrine settings. [20]
The EECO was preceded by a major long-term warming trend in the Late Palaeocene and Early Eocene. [21] It was initiated by a series of intense hyperthermal events in the Early Eocene, including Eocene Thermal Maximum 2 (ETM2) and ETM3. [22]
The emplacement of the Pana Formation, a volcanic rock formation in southern Tibet that may represent the product of a supereruption, has also been proposed as a source of excess carbon flux into the atmosphere that drove the EECO. [23] Other research attributes the elevated greenhouse gas levels to increased generation of petroleum in sedimentary basins and enhanced ventilation of marine carbon. [24]
The final phase of the Angiosperm Terrestrial Revolution occurred during the EECO. [25] The supergreenhouse climate of the EECO fostered extensive floral diversification and increased habitat complexity in North American terrestrial biomes. [2] The hot, humid conditions of the EECO may have facilitated the evolution of epiphytic bryophytes, with the oldest member of Lejeuneaceae being described from fossils from the Cambay amber dating back to the EECO. [26] The Okanagan Highlands in British Columbia and Washington became a biodiversity hotspot from which newly evolved lineages of temperate-adapted plants radiated from following the end of the EECO. [27]
The climate was warm enough to allow palms and palm beetles to inhabit upland regions of British Columbia and Washington. [28] Ellesmere Island became inhabited by basal primatomorphs. [29]
Northern Yakutia was covered in mangroves. [30] Mongolia witnessed a humidification event that transformed it from a shrubland into a forest and significantly reducing local wildfire incidence. [31]
In South America, the EECO coincided with the Itaboraian South American Land Mammal Age. [32] Cingulates diversified over the course of the EECO. [33]
The northern margins of the Australo-Antarctic Gulf, then located at 60-65 °S, were covered in wet-tropical lowland vegetation. [34]
At Shatsky Rise, the planktonic foraminifera Morozovella and Chiloguembelina declined in abundance. Acarinina became the dominant planktonic foraminifer in this locality. [35] Morozovella underwent a switch from dextral to sinistral coiling across the EECO. [36] The euryhaline dinoflagellate Homotryblium became superabundant at the site of Waipara in New Zealand during the early and middle EECO, reflecting the occurrence of significant stratification of surficial waters as well as increased salinity. [37]
The EECO caused an increase in chert deposition by way of basin–basin fractionation by deep-sea circulation, causing increased silica concentrations in the North Atlantic which in turn resulted in direct precipitation of silica as well as its absorption by clay minerals. [38] The Equatorial Pacific displays extensive chert deposits laid down during the EECO. [39] The EECO was also marked by enhanced glauconite deposition. [40]
Because the pCO2 values of the EECO could potentially be reached if anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions continue unabated for three centuries, the EECO has been used as an analogue for high-end projections of the Earth's future climate that would result from humanity's burning of fossil fuels. [41] Based on the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 (RCP8.5) emission scenario, by 2150 CE, the climates across much of the world would resemble conditions during the EECO. [42] One scenario of Lee et. al. (2021) suggests that conditions comparable to EECO could occur by 2300 CE. [43]
The Cretaceous is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of the entire Phanerozoic. The name is derived from the Latin creta, 'chalk', which is abundant in the latter half of the period. It is usually abbreviated K, for its German translation Kreide.
The Cenozoic is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66 million years of Earth's history. It is characterized by the dominance of mammals, birds, conifers, and angiosperms. It is the latest of three geological eras, preceded by the Mesozoic and Paleozoic. The Cenozoic started with the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, when many species, including the non-avian dinosaurs, became extinct in an event attributed by most experts to the impact of a large asteroid or other celestial body, the Chicxulub impactor.
The Eocene is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name Eocene comes from the Ancient Greek Ἠώς and καινός and refers to the "dawn" of modern ('new') fauna that appeared during the epoch.
The Holocene is the current geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene together form the Quaternary period. The Holocene is an interglacial period within the ongoing glacial cycles of the Quaternary, and is equivalent to Marine Isotope Stage 1.
The Miocene is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about 23.03 to 5.333 million years ago (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words μείων and καινός and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern marine invertebrates than the Pliocene has. The Miocene is preceded by the Oligocene and is followed by the Pliocene.
The Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present. As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the epoch are slightly uncertain. The name Oligocene was coined in 1854 by the German paleontologist Heinrich Ernst Beyrich from his studies of marine beds in Belgium and Germany. The name comes from Ancient Greek ὀλίγος (olígos) 'few' and καινός (kainós) 'new', and refers to the sparsity of extant forms of molluscs. The Oligocene is preceded by the Eocene Epoch and is followed by the Miocene Epoch. The Oligocene is the third and final epoch of the Paleogene Period.
The Paleogene Period is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period 66 Ma to the beginning of the Neogene Period 23.03 Ma. It is the first period of the Cenozoic Era and is divided into the Paleocene, Eocene, and Oligocene epochs. The earlier term Tertiary Period was used to define the time now covered by the Paleogene Period and subsequent Neogene Period; despite no longer being recognized as a formal stratigraphic term, "Tertiary" still sometimes remains in informal use. Paleogene is often abbreviated "Pg", although the United States Geological Survey uses the abbreviation "Pe" for the Paleogene on the Survey's geologic maps.
The Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum (PETM), alternatively ”Eocene thermal maximum 1 (ETM1)“ and formerly known as the "Initial Eocene" or “Late Paleocene thermal maximum", was a geologically brief time interval characterized by a 5–8 °C global average temperature rise and massive input of carbon into the ocean and atmosphere. The event began, now formally, at the time boundary between the Paleocene and Eocene geological epochs. The exact age and duration of the PETM remain uncertain, but it occurred around 55.8 million years ago (Ma) and lasted about 200 thousand years (Ka).
The Holocene Climate Optimum (HCO) was a warm period in the first half of the Holocene epoch, that occurred in the interval roughly 9,500 to 5,500 years BP, with a thermal maximum around 8000 years BP. It has also been known by many other names, such as Altithermal, Climatic Optimum, Holocene Megathermal, Holocene Optimum, Holocene Thermal Maximum, Hypsithermal, and Mid-Holocene Warm Period.
An abrupt climate change occurs when the climate system is forced to transition at a rate that is determined by the climate system energy-balance. The transition rate is more rapid than the rate of change of the external forcing, though it may include sudden forcing events such as meteorite impacts. Abrupt climate change therefore is a variation beyond the variability of a climate. Past events include the end of the Carboniferous Rainforest Collapse, Younger Dryas, Dansgaard–Oeschger events, Heinrich events and possibly also the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum. The term is also used within the context of climate change to describe sudden climate change that is detectable over the time-scale of a human lifetime. Such a sudden climate change can be the result of feedback loops within the climate system or tipping points in the climate system.
In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age or lowest stratigraphic stage of the Eocene. It spans the time between 56 and47.8 Ma, is preceded by the Thanetian Age and is followed by the Eocene Lutetian Age. The Ypresian is consistent with the Lower Eocene.
The Eocene–Oligocene extinction event, also called the Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT) or Grande Coupure, is the transition between the end of the Eocene and the beginning of the Oligocene, an extinction event and faunal turnover occurring between 33.9 and 33.4 million years ago. It was marked by large-scale extinction and floral and faunal turnover, although it was relatively minor in comparison to the largest mass extinctions.
The Middle Miocene Climatic Transition (MMCT) was a relatively steady period of climatic cooling that occurred around the middle of the Miocene, roughly 14 million years ago (Ma), during the Langhian stage, and resulted in the growth of ice sheet volumes globally, and the reestablishment of the ice of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS). The term Middle Miocene disruption, alternatively the Middle Miocene extinction or Middle Miocene extinction peak, refers to a wave of extinctions of terrestrial and aquatic life forms that occurred during this climatic interval. This period was preceded by the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum (MMCO), a period of relative warmth from 18 to 14 Ma. Cooling that led to the Middle Miocene disruption is primarily attributed CO2 being pulled out of the Earth's atmosphere by organic material before becoming caught in different locations like the Monterey Formation. These may have been amplified by changes in oceanic and atmospheric circulation due to continental drift. Additionally, orbitally paced factors may also have played a role.
Eocene Thermal Maximum 2 (ETM-2), also called H-1 or Elmo, was a transient period of global warming that occurred around 54 Ma. It was the second major hyperthermal that punctuated long-term warming from the Late Paleocene through the Early Eocene.
Tilia johnsoni is an extinct species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae that, as a member of the genus Tilia, is related to modern lindens. The species is known from fossil leaves found in the early Eocene deposits of northern Washington state, United States and a similar aged formation in British Columbia, Canada.
The Mid-Piacenzian Warm Period (mPWP), or the Pliocene Thermal Maximum, was an interval of warm climate during the Pliocene epoch that lasted from 3.3 to 3.0 million years ago (Ma).
The Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum (MECO), also called the Middle Eocene Thermal Maximum (METM), was a period of very warm climate that occurred during the Bartonian, from around 40.5 to 40.0 Ma. It marked a notable reversal of the overall trend of global cooling that characterised the Middle and Late Eocene.
The Medieval Warm Period (MWP), also known as the Medieval Climate Optimum or the Medieval Climatic Anomaly, was a time of warm climate in the North Atlantic region that lasted from c. 950 to c. 1250. Climate proxy records show peak warmth occurred at different times for different regions, which indicate that the MWP was not a globally uniform event. Some refer to the MWP as the Medieval Climatic Anomaly to emphasize that climatic effects other than temperature were also important.
A hyperthermal event corresponds to a sudden warming of the planet on a geologic time scale.
The Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum (MMCO), sometimes referred to as the Middle Miocene Thermal Maximum (MMTM), was an interval of warm climate during the Miocene epoch, specifically the Burdigalian and Langhian stages.