Response of marine carbonate preservation to carbon cycle perturbations of the Eocene

Marine carbonates dissolve due to ocean acidification. Greenhouse warmth of early Eocene was slowly transitioning to icehouse conditions of late Eocene-Oligocene. This study documents a unique record of changes in quality and quantity of marine carbonates that accumulated through Eocene in north-central Pacific Ocean. Such changes happen due to vertical movements of CCD and lysocline (carbonate saturation horizons) in the ocean, which are in turn related to climate change and carbon cycle perturbations. The changes in carbonate accumulation, tied to a stable carbon and oxygen isotope stratigraphy of ODP Site 1209 in the north-central Pacific is then compared with global records, and a CCD reconstruction of  equatorial Pacific. This study provides a unique scope to portray both short- and long-term changes of marine carbonate preservation through the Eocene epoch, which records the most dramatic climate change of the Cenozoic. Please see the full research paper here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2020.105705, or click on the image to download the article.