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Research Article| March 01, 2007 Stable warm tropical climate through the Eocene Epoch Paul N. Pearson; Paul N. Pearson 1School of Earth, Ocean and Planetary Sciences, Cardiff University, Main Building, Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3YE, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Bart E. van Dongen; Bart E. van Dongen 2Organic Geochemistry Unit, Bristol Biogeochemistry Research Centre, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Christopher J. Nicholas; Christopher J. Nicholas 3Department of Geology, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Richard D. Pancost; Richard D. Pancost 4Organic Geochemistry Unit, Bristol Biogeochemistry Research Centre, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Stefan Schouten; Stefan Schouten 5Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Marine Biogeochemistry & Toxicology, P.O. Box 59, Den Burg, Netherlands Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Joyce M. Singano; Joyce M. Singano 6Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation, P.O. Box 2774, Dares-Salaam, Tanzania Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Bridget S. Wade Bridget S. Wade 7Institute of Marine and Coastal Science, Rutgers University, 71 Dudley Road, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901-8521, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Paul N. Pearson 1School of Earth, Ocean and Planetary Sciences, Cardiff University, Main Building, Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3YE, UK Bart E. van Dongen 2Organic Geochemistry Unit, Bristol Biogeochemistry Research Centre, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK Christopher J. Nicholas 3Department of Geology, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland Richard D. Pancost 4Organic Geochemistry Unit, Bristol Biogeochemistry Research Centre, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK Stefan Schouten 5Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Marine Biogeochemistry & Toxicology, P.O. Box 59, Den Burg, Netherlands Joyce M. Singano 6Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation, P.O. Box 2774, Dares-Salaam, Tanzania Bridget S. Wade 7Institute of Marine and Coastal Science, Rutgers University, 71 Dudley Road, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901-8521, USA Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 10 Jul 2006 Revision Received: 09 Oct 2006 Accepted: 12 Oct 2006 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (2007) 35 (3): 211–214. https://doi.org/10.1130/G23175A.1 Article history Received: 10 Jul 2006 Revision Received: 09 Oct 2006 Accepted: 12 Oct 2006 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Paul N. Pearson, Bart E. van Dongen, Christopher J. Nicholas, Richard D. Pancost, Stefan Schouten, Joyce M. Singano, Bridget S. Wade; Stable warm tropical climate through the Eocene Epoch. Geology 2007;; 35 (3): 211–214. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G23175A.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Earth's climate cooled from a period of extreme warmth in the early Eocene Epoch (ca. 50 Ma) to the early Oligocene (ca. 33 Ma), when a large ice cap first appeared on Antarctica. Evidence from the planktonic foraminifer oxygen isotope record in deep-sea cores has suggested that tropical sea-surface temperatures declined by 5-10 degrees over this interval, eventually becoming much cooler than modern temperatures. Here we present paleotemperature estimates from foraminifer isotopes and the membrane lipids of marine Crenarcheota from new drill cores in Tanzania that indicate a warm and generally stable tropical climate over this period. We reinterpret the previously published isotope records in the light of comparative textural analysis of the deep-sea foraminifer shells, which shows that in contrast to the Tanzanian material, they have been diagenetically recrystallized. We suggest that increasingly severe alteration of the deep-sea plankton shells through the Eocene produced a diagenetic overprint on their oxygen isotope ratios that imparts the false appearance of a tropical sea-surface cooling trend. This implies that the long-term Eocene climatic cooling trend occurred mainly at the poles and had little effect at lower latitudes. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.