Early Cretaceous life, climate and anoxia

doi:10.1016/J.CRETRES.2011.12.005

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Early Cretaceous life, climate and anoxia

Journal Article•DOI•

Early Cretaceous life, climate and anoxia

Karl B. Föllmi¹•Institutions (1)

University of Lausanne¹

01 Jun 2012-Cretaceous Research (Academic Press)-Vol. 35, pp 230-257

TL;DR: Early Cretaceous life and the environment were strongly influenced by the accelerated break up of Pangaea, which was associated with the formation of a multitude of rift basins, intensified spreading, and important volcanic activity on land and in the sea as discussed by the authors.

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About: This article is published in Cretaceous Research.The article was published on 2012-06-01. It has received 352 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Aptian & Cretaceous.

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Journal Article•DOI•

Review: Short-term sea-level changes in a greenhouse world — A view from the Cretaceous

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Benjamin Sames¹, Benjamin Sames², Michael Wagreich¹, Jens E Wendler³, Bilal U. Haq⁴, Clinton P. Conrad⁵, Mihaela Carmen Melinte-Dobrinescu, Xiumian Hu⁶, Ines Wendler³, Erik Wolfgring¹, Ismail Omer Yilmaz⁷, Ismail Omer Yilmaz⁸, Svetlana O. Zorina⁹ - Show less +9 more•Institutions (9)

University of Vienna¹, American Museum of Natural History², University of Bremen³, Pierre-and-Marie-Curie University⁴, University of Hawaii⁵, Nanjing University⁶, University of Texas at Austin⁷, Middle East Technical University⁸, Kazan Federal University⁹

01 Jan 2016-Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

TL;DR: A review of the state of the art on eustatic (global) versus relative (regional) sea level, as well as long-term versus short-term fluctuations and their drivers can be found in this paper.

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135 citations

Cites background or result from "Early Cretaceous life, climate and ..."

...…been suggested as driving mechanism for sea-level falls caused by longer-term groundwater storage on the continents (e.g. Jacobs and Sahagian, 1993; Föllmi, 2012; Wendler et al., 2011; Wagreich et al., 2014; Wendler and Wendler, 2016-in this volume; Wendler et al., 2016-in this volume),…...
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...For the Early Cretaceous with its generally cool greenhouse climate (Hay and Floegel, 2012; Hu et al., 2012; Föllmi, 2012) glacio-eustasy seems to be a likely driver for short-term sea-level changes (cf....
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...…glacial episodes, for which there is evidence at least in the Early and the latest Cretaceous (e.g. Alley and Frakes, 2003; Price and Nunn, 2010; Föllmi, 2012), the presence of continental ice sheets during the remainder of the Cretaceous is controversial, and remains particularly enigmatic for…...
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...For the Early Cretaceous with its generally cool greenhouse climate (Hay and Floegel, 2012; Hu et al., 2012; Föllmi, 2012) glacio-eustasy seems to be a likely driver for short-term sea-level changes (cf. Section 2.5.) given the presence of direct evidence for ice (e.g. Alley and Frakes, 2003) and…...
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...Our views of Cretaceous climates have changed during the last decades, from a warm, equable Cretaceous greenhouse to a Cretaceous that is subdivided into 3–4 longer-term climate states: a cooler Early Cretaceous greenhouse with the possibility of “cold snaps”, a very warm greenhouse mid-Cretaceous ("Supergreenhouse") including short-lived ‘hothouse’ periods with widespread anoxia and a possible reversal of the thermohaline circulation (HEATT episodes of ‘haline euxinic acidic thermal transgression’, see Kidder and Worsley, 2010; Hay and Floegel, 2012), and a Late Cretaceous warm to cool greenhouse evolution (e.g. Skelton, 2003; Kidder and Worsley, 2010, 2012; Föllmi, 2012; Hay and Floegel, 2012; Hu et al., 2012)....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Mid-Cretaceous High Arctic stratigraphy, climate, and Oceanic Anoxic Events

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Jens O. Herrle¹, Claudia J. Schröder-Adams², William J. Davis³, Adam T. Pugh⁴, Jennifer M. Galloway³, Jared Fath³ - Show less +2 more•Institutions (4)

Goethe University Frankfurt¹, Carleton University², Geological Survey of Canada³, ConocoPhillips⁴

01 May 2015-Geology

TL;DR: In this paper, high-resolution geochemical records for an ~1.8-km-thick sedimentary succession exposed on Axel Heiberg Island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago at a paleolatitude of ~71°N.

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Abstract: Over the past decades, much research has focused on the mid-Cretaceous greenhouse climate, the formation of widespread organic-rich black shales, and cooling intervals from low- to mid-latitude sections. Data from the High Arctic, however, are limited. In this paper, we present high-resolution geochemical records for an ~1.8-km-thick sedimentary succession exposed on Axel Heiberg Island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago at a paleolatitude of ~71°N. For the first time, we have data constraints for the timing and magnitude of most major Oceanic Anoxic Events (OAEs) in brackish-water (OAE1a) and shelf (OAE1b and OAE2) settings in the mid-Cretaceous High Arctic. These are consistent with carbon-climate perturbations reported from deep-water records of lower latitudes. Glendonite beds are observed in the upper Aptian to lower Albian, covering an interval of ~6 m.y. between 118 and 112 Ma. Although the formation of glendonites is still under discussion, these well-dated occurrences may support the existence of cool shelf waters in the High Arctic Sverdrup Basin at this time, coeval with recent geochemical data from the subtropical Atlantic indicating a drop in seasurface temperature of nearly 4 °C.

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127 citations

Cites background from "Early Cretaceous life, climate and ..."

...Although major progress in Cretaceous (145– 66 Ma) paleoclimate and paleoceanography has been made during the past decade (e.g., Föllmi, 2012), high-latitudinal environmental change has been less studied relative to low- and midlatitude marine and terrestrial environments (e.g., Herman and Spicer,…...
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Journal Article•DOI•

Climate variability and ocean fertility during the Aptian Stage

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Cinzia Bottini¹, Elisabetta Erba¹, Daniele Tiraboschi¹, Hugh C. Jenkyns², Stefan Schouten, J.S. Sinninghe Damsté - Show less +2 more•Institutions (2)

University of Milan¹, University of Oxford²

05 Mar 2015-Climate of The Past

TL;DR: In this paper, a reconstruction of surface-water palaeotemperature and fertility based on calcareous nannofossil records from the Cismon and Piobbico cores (Tethys) and DSDP Site 463 (Pacific Ocean) is presented.

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Abstract: . Several studies have been conducted to reconstruct temperature variations across the Aptian Stage, particularly during early Aptian Oceanic Anoxic Event (OAE) 1a. There is a general consensus that a major warming characterized OAE 1a, although some studies have provided evidence for transient "cold snaps" or cooler intervals during the event. The climatic conditions for the middle–late Aptian are less constrained, and a complete record through the Aptian is not available. Here we present a reconstruction of surface-water palaeotemperature and fertility based on calcareous nannofossil records from the Cismon and Piobbico cores (Tethys) and DSDP Site 463 (Pacific Ocean). The data, integrated with oxygen-isotope and TEX86 records, provide a detailed picture of climatic and ocean fertility changes during the Aptian Stage, which are discussed in relation to the direct/indirect role of volcanism. Warm temperatures characterized the pre-OAE 1a interval, followed by a maximum warming (of ~ 1.5–2 °C) during the early phase of anoxia under intense volcanic activity of the Ontong Java Plateau (OJP). A short-lived cooling episode interrupted the major warming, following a rapid increase in weathering rates. Nannofossils indicate that mesotrophic conditions were reached when temperatures were at their highest and OJP volcanism most intense, thus suggesting that continental runoff, together with increased input of hydrothermal metals, increased nutrient supply to the oceans. The latter part of OAE 1a was characterized by cooling events, probably promoted by CO2 sequestration during burial of organic matter. In this phase, high productivity was probably maintained by N2-fixing cyanobacteria, while nannofossil taxa indicating higher fertility were rare. The end of anoxia coincided with the cessation of volcanism and a pronounced cooling. The mid-Aptian was characterized by highest surface-water fertility and progressively decreasing temperatures, probably resulting from intense continental weathering drawing down pCO2. The lowest temperatures, combined with low fertility, were reached in the middle–late Aptian across the interval characterized by blooming of Nannoconus truittii. The prolonged cooling was followed by significant warming across the Aptian–Albian boundary. The data presented suggest that OJP activity played a direct role in inducing global warming during the early Aptian, whereas other mechanisms (weathering, deposition of organic matter) acted as feedback processes, favouring temporary cooler interludes.

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112 citations

Cites background from "Early Cretaceous life, climate and ..."

...The early Aptian has been generally seen as a time of warm and humid climate, mainly responsible for accelerated continental weathering, and consequent important nutrient fluxes to the ocean sustaining high productivity (e.g. Leckie et al., 2002; Erba, 2004; Föllmi, 2012)....
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Book Chapter•DOI•

Environmental consequences of Ontong Java Plateau and Kerguelen Plateau volcanism

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Elisabetta Erba¹, Robert A. Duncan², Cinzia Bottini¹, Daniele Tiraboschi¹, Helmut Weissert³, Hugh C. Jenkyns⁴, Alberto Malinverno⁵ - Show less +3 more•Institutions (5)

University of Milan¹, Oregon State University², ETH Zurich³, University of Oxford⁴, Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory⁵

01 May 2015

TL;DR: The mid-Cretaceous was marked by emplacement of large igneous provinces (LIPs) that formed gigantic oceanic plateaus, affecting ecosystems on a global scale, with biota forced to face excess CO 2 resulting in climate and ocean perturbations as mentioned in this paper.

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Abstract: The mid-Cretaceous was marked by emplacement of large igneous provinces (LIPs) that formed gigantic oceanic plateaus, affecting ecosystems on a global scale, with biota forced to face excess CO 2 resulting in climate and ocean perturbations. Volcanic phases of the Ontong Java Plateau (OJP) and the southern Kerguelen Plateau (SKP) are radiometrically dated and correlate with paleoenvironmental changes, suggesting causal links between LIPs and ecosystem responses. Aptian biocalcifi cation crises and recoveries are broadly coeval with C, Pb, and Os isotopic anomalies, trace metal infl uxes, global anoxia, and climate changes. Early Aptian greenhouse or supergreenhouse conditions were followed by prolonged cooling during the late Aptian, when OJP and SKP developed, respectively. Massive volcanism occurring at equatorial versus high paleolatitudes and submarine versus subaerial settings triggered very different climate responses but similar disruptions in the marine carbonate system. Excess CO 2 arguably induced episodic ocean acidifi cation that was detrimental to

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101 citations

Cites background from "Early Cretaceous life, climate and ..."

...…carbonates Föllmi et al. 2006 Calcareous nannofossils Tremolada et al. 2007 Geochemistry Jenkyns 2010 Climatic, biotic, and environmental changes Föllmi 2012 Rudists and carbonate platforms: climate and ocean chemistry Skelton and Gili 2012 Note: OAE—Oceanic Anoxic Event; DSDP—Deep Sea…...
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...…Grötsch et al., 1998; Weissert et al., 1998; Jenkyns and Wilson, 1999; Steuber, 2002; Wissler et al., 2003; Immenhauser et al., 2004, 2005; Burla et al., 2008; Föllmi and Gainon, 2008; Föllmi, 2008, 2012; Huck et al., 2010, 2012; Rameil et al., 2010; Masse and Fenerci-Masse, 2011; Graziano, 2013)....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Continental systems tracts of the Brazilian Cretaceous Bauru Basin and their relationship with the tectonic and climatic evolution of South America

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Alessandro Batezelli¹•Institutions (1)

State University of Campinas¹

01 Feb 2017-Basin Research

TL;DR: In this article, the authors identify stacking patterns of aeolian, lacustrine, fluvial and alluvial systems that correspond to the particular tectonic and climatic evolution of the southeastern portion of South America.

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Abstract: The application of sequence stratigraphy concepts to continental deposits lacking the referece provided sea level has been a challenge, mainly because the temporal relationships between stratigraphic surfaces and systems tracts depend on the tectonic and climatic evolution of the area. Using the concept of accommodation space (A) and sediment supply (S), we identify specific stacking patterns of aeolian, lacustrine, fluvial and alluvial systems that correspond to the particular tectonic and climatic evolution of the southeastern portion of South America. With the end of the Early Cretaceous volcanism (133 Ma), the southeastern portion of South America underwent tectonic restructuring, which generated basins that encompassed continental sedimentary sequences. The tectonic events responsible for the accumulation of these sequences occurred during two primary phases. The first phase is related to Early Cretaceous thermal subsidence, which was more pronounced in the regions where the thickest Serra Geral Formation basaltic successions are found, resulting in the formation of Bauru Basin. The second phase was related to the Late Cretaceous uplift in southeastern Brazil as a result of magmatic/volcanic activity associated with the Trindade Mantle Plume. Stratigraphic analysis based on well-logs and outcrops and aided by petrographic studies identified three sequences that are bounded by regional unconformities that record important changes in the Bauru Basin's tectonic and paleoenvironmental conditions. The unconformity K-0 is related to the origin of the Bauru Basin in the Early Cretaceous. The Early Cretaceous Sequence 1 (Caiua Group) is interpreted as a second- order sequence, formed by aeolian and fluvial deposits and constituting a Fluvial-Aeolian Systems Tract. Unconformity K-1 that was generated in the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian – Campanian?) is related to the tectonic evolution of the basin and source area. Overlying Unconformity K-1, lacustrine, fluvial and alluvial deposits display progradational characteristics of the two-third- order sequences: Sequences 2A and 2B, constituted by the Fluvial-Lacustrine and Alluvial Systems Tracts, respectively, and separated by the Unconformity K-1A. Sedimentological characteristics, paleosols and stratigraphic architecture, suggest that A/S ratio was neutral in the late stage of the Sequence 1, whereas in the Sequence 2 there was an increase (Sequence 2A) followed by a decrease in the A/S ratio (Sequence 2B). Aeolian facies and paleosol P1 (Sequence 1), fluvial-lacustrine facies and hydromorphic soils (Sequence 2A), and alluvial facies and Paleosol P2 (Sequence 2B), indicate climatic changes in the South American during the Cretaceous. The stratigraphic framework, subaerial unconformities and paleosols provide key elements for subdividing of the Brazilian continental sequence into third-order sequences and systems tracts, for identification of allocyclic and autocyclic patterns in time and space.

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100 citations

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Journal Article•DOI•

Chronology of fluctuating sea levels since the triassic.

[...]

Bilal U. Haq, Jan Hardenbol, Peter R. Vail

06 Mar 1987-Science

TL;DR: An effort has been made to develop a realistic and accurate time scale and widely applicablechronostratigraphy and to integrate depositional sequences documented in public domain outcrop sections from various basins with this chronostratigraphic framework.

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Abstract: Advances in sequence stratigraphy and the development of depositional models have helped explain the origin of genetically related sedimentary packages during sea level cycles. These concepts have provided the basis for the recognition of sea level events in subsurface data and in outcrops of marine sediments around the world. Knowledge of these events has led to a new generation of Mesozoic and Cenozoic global cycle charts that chronicle the history of sea level fluctuations during the past 250 million years in greater detail than was possible from seismic-stratigraphic data alone. An effort has been made to develop a realistic and accurate time scale and widely applicable chronostratigraphy and to integrate depositional sequences documented in public domain outcrop sections from various basins with this chronostratigraphic framework. A description of this approach and an account of the results, illustrated by sea level cycle charts of the Cenozoic, Cretaceous, Jurassic, and Triassic intervals, are presented.

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6,928 citations

"Early Cretaceous life, climate and ..." refers background in this paper

...Based on the presence of evaporites, a second-order sea-level lowstand, d18O belemnite data, clay-mineral assemblages and palynological observations, a general evolution towards more arid conditions is observed in the latest Jurassic for the central and northern European area, which continues well into the early Berriasian (Hallam, 1986; Haq et al., 1987; Hallam et al., 1991; Allen, 1998; Abbink et al., 2001; Dera et al., 2011)....
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...and Hart (1996) and Hallam andWignall (1997) considered the late Aptian period of minor importance with regard to extinction rates....
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...Paquier episodes (Fig. 1; Haq et al., 1987)....
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...The Paquier Episode includes an interval of short-term sea-level fall, which is dated as early Albian (Fig. 1; Haq et al., 1987)....
[...]

Supporting Online Material for Spreading Dead Zones and Consequences for Marine Ecosystems

[...]

Robert J. Diaz, Rutger Rosenberg

01 Jan 2008

TL;DR: The formation of dead zones has been exacerbated by the increase in primary production and consequent worldwide coastal eutrophication fueled by riverine runoff of fertilizers and the burning of fossil fuels as discussed by the authors.

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Abstract: Dead zones in the coastal oceans have spread exponentially since the 1960s and have serious consequences for ecosystem functioning. The formation of dead zones has been exacerbated by the increase in primary production and consequent worldwide coastal eutrophication fueled by riverine runoff of fertilizers and the burning of fossil fuels. Enhanced primary production results in an accumulation of particulate organic matter, which encourages microbial activity and the consumption of dissolved oxygen in bottom waters. Dead zones have now been reported from more than 400 systems, affecting a total area of more than 245,000 square kilometers, and are probably a key stressor on marine ecosystems.

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4,686 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Spreading Dead Zones and Consequences for Marine Ecosystems

[...]

Robert J. Diaz¹, Rutger Rosenberg²•Institutions (2)

Virginia Institute of Marine Science¹, University of Gothenburg²

15 Aug 2008-Science

TL;DR: Dead zones in the coastal oceans have spread exponentially since the 1960s and have serious consequences for ecosystem functioning, exacerbated by the increase in primary production and consequent worldwide coastal eutrophication fueled by riverine runoff of fertilizers and the burning of fossil fuels.

...read moreread less

4,667 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Anthropogenic ocean acidification over the twenty-first century and its impact on calcifying organisms

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James C. Orr, Victoria J. Fabry, Olivier Aumont, Laurent Bopp, Scott C. Doney¹, Richard A. Feely², Anand Gnanadesikan³, Nicolas Gruber, Akio Ishida, Fortunat Joos, Robert M. Key⁴, Keith Lindsay⁵, Ernst Maier-Reimer⁶, Richard J. Matear, Patrick Monfray, Anne Mouchet, Raymond G. Najjar⁷, Gian-Kasper Plattner, Keith B. Rodgers⁴, Christopher L. Sabine², Jorge L. Sarmiento⁴, Reiner Schlitzer, Richard D. Slater⁴, I. Totterdell⁸, Marie-France Weirig, Yasuhiro Yamanaka, Andrew Yool⁸ - Show less +23 more•Institutions (8)

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution¹, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory², Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory³, Princeton University⁴, National Center for Atmospheric Research⁵, Max Planck Society⁶, Pennsylvania State University⁷, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton⁸

29 Sep 2005-Nature

TL;DR: 13 models of the ocean–carbon cycle are used to assess calcium carbonate saturation under the IS92a ‘business-as-usual’ scenario for future emissions of anthropogenic carbon dioxide and indicate that conditions detrimental to high-latitude ecosystems could develop within decades, not centuries as suggested previously.

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Abstract: Today's surface ocean is saturated with respect to calcium carbonate, but increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations are reducing ocean pH and carbonate ion concentrations, and thus the level of calcium carbonate saturation. Experimental evidence suggests that if these trends continue, key marine organisms—such as corals and some plankton—will have difficulty maintaining their external calcium carbonate skeletons. Here we use 13 models of the ocean–carbon cycle to assess calcium carbonate saturation under the IS92a 'business-as-usual' scenario for future emissions of anthropogenic carbon dioxide. In our projections, Southern Ocean surface waters will begin to become undersaturated with respect to aragonite, a metastable form of calcium carbonate, by the year 2050. By 2100, this undersaturation could extend throughout the entire Southern Ocean and into the subarctic Pacific Ocean. When live pteropods were exposed to our predicted level of undersaturation during a two-day shipboard experiment, their aragonite shells showed notable dissolution. Our findings indicate that conditions detrimental to high-latitude ecosystems could develop within decades, not centuries as suggested previously.

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4,244 citations

Book•

A Geologic time scale

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W. B. Harland

01 Jan 1982

4,055 citations