Evidence for Limited Atmospheric CO2 Rise at the Miocene Climatic Optimum
Wubben, E.; Frieling, J.; Bats, Y.F.; van Roij, L.; de Haan, K.; Reichart, G.; Peterse, F.; Sangiorgi, F.; van der Meer, M.T.J.; Sluijs, A. (2026). Evidence for Limited Atmospheric CO2 Rise at the Miocene Climatic Optimum. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology 41(6): e2025PA005388. https://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2025PA005388
In: Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology. American Geophysical Union: Washington DC. ISSN 2572-4525; e-ISSN 2572-4525, more
|  |
| Author keywords |
Miocene;co2;alkenone;dinoflagellate cyst;carbon-isotope fractionation;growth-rate;marine-phytoplankton;temperature;evolution;dioxide;record;c-13;acquisition;delta-c-13 |
| Authors | | Top |
- Wubben, E.
- Frieling, J.
- Bats, Y.F.
- van Roij, L.
|
- de Haan, K.
- Reichart, G., more
- Peterse, F., more
|
- Sangiorgi, F.
- van der Meer, M.T.J., more
- Sluijs, A.
|
| Abstract |
The Miocene Climatic Optimum (MCO; 16.9-14.7 Ma) was a relatively warm period with atmospheric CO2 averaging similar to 500 mu atm but CO2 change across its onset is poorly documented. We present a record of algal 13C-fractionation covering the Early to Middle Miocene (similar to 18.5-15 Ma), with a gap at the MCO onset, from Ocean Drilling Program Site 959 in the tropical Atlantic. Bulk marine organic carbon, alkenones and the dinoflagellate cyst species Spiniferites ramosus all show higher 13C-fractionation within the MCO than in the interval below the MCO. Based on various models to convert this signal to CO2, including a new statistical model based on core top and culture data, these records imply a CO2 rise of similar to 100-150 mu atm across the MCO onset, consistent with previously published information. |
|
