Enhanced Terrestrial Carbon Export From East Antarctica During the Early Eocene

Gordon N. Inglis; Jaime L. Toney; Jiang Zhu; Christopher J. Poulsen; Ursula Röhl; Stewart S.R. Jamieson; Jörg Pross; Margot J. Cramwinckel; Srinath Krishnan; Mark Pagani; Peter K. Bijl; James Bendle

doi:10.1029/2021PA004348

Enhanced Terrestrial Carbon Export From East Antarctica During the Early Eocene

Gordon N. Inglis^*, Jaime L. Toney, Jiang Zhu, Christopher J. Poulsen, Ursula Röhl, Stewart S.R. Jamieson, Jörg Pross, Margot J. Cramwinckel, Srinath Krishnan, Mark Pagani, Peter K. Bijl, James Bendle

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

Terrestrial organic carbon (TerrOC) acts as an important CO₂ sink when transported via rivers to the ocean and sequestered in coastal marine sediments. This mechanism might help to modulate atmospheric CO₂ levels over short- and long- timescales (10³–10⁶ years), but its importance during past warm climates remains unknown. Here we use terrestrial biomarkers preserved in coastal marine sediment samples from Wilkes Land, East Antarctica (∼67°S) to quantify TerrOC burial during the early Eocene (∼54.4–51.5 Ma). Terrestrial biomarker distributions indicate the delivery of plant-, soil-, and peat-derived organic carbon (OC) into the marine realm. Mass accumulation rates of plant- (long-chain n-alkane) and soil-derived (hopane) biomarkers dramatically increase between the earliest Eocene (∼54 Ma) and the early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO; ∼53 Ma). This coincides with increased OC mass accumulation rates and indicates enhanced TerrOC burial during the EECO. Leaf wax δ²H values indicate that the EECO was characterized by wetter conditions relative to the earliest Eocene, suggesting that hydroclimate exerts a first-order control on TerrOC export. Our results indicate that TerrOC burial in coastal marine sediments could have acted as an important negative feedback mechanism during the early Eocene, but also during other warm climate intervals.

Original language	English
Article number	e2021PA004348
Number of pages	14
Journal	Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology
Volume	37
Issue number	2
Early online date	18 Jan 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1029/2021PA004348
Publication status	Published - Feb 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research used samples and/or data provided by the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP). G.N. Inglis was supported by a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship (DHF\R1\191178). J. Bendle and J.L. Toney were supported by NERC (NE/I00646X/2). U. Röhl and J. Pross were supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation; project no. 203022934, and no. 111964030, respectively). C.J. Poulsen was supported by the Heising‐Simons Foundation (Grant nos. 2016‐05 and 2016‐12) and the National Science Foundation (NSF; Grant no. 2002397). The CESM project is supported primarily by the National Science Foundation (NSF). This material is based upon work supported by the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which is a major facility sponsored by the NSF under Cooperative Agreement No. 1852977. Computing and data storage resources, including the Cheyenne supercomputer ( https://doi.org/10.5065/D6RX99HX ), were provided by the Computational and Information Systems Laboratory (CISL) at NCAR. The authors thank Sarah Feakins, Emily Tibbett, Bob Hilton, and one anonymous reviewer whose comments improved this manuscript significantly.

Funding Information:
This research used samples and/or data provided by the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP). G.N. Inglis was supported by a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship (DHF\R1\191178). J. Bendle and J.L. Toney were supported by NERC (NE/I00646X/2). U. R?hl and J. Pross were supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation; project no. 203022934, and no. 111964030, respectively). C.J. Poulsen was supported by the Heising-Simons Foundation (Grant nos. 2016-05 and 2016-12) and the National Science Foundation (NSF; Grant no. 2002397). The CESM project is supported primarily by the National Science Foundation (NSF). This material is based upon work supported by the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which is a major facility sponsored by the NSF under Cooperative Agreement No. 1852977. Computing and data storage resources, including the Cheyenne supercomputer (https://doi.org/10.5065/D6RX99HX), were provided by the Computational and Information Systems Laboratory (CISL) at NCAR. The authors thank Sarah Feakins, Emily Tibbett, Bob Hilton, and one anonymous reviewer whose comments improved this manuscript significantly.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022. The Authors.

Keywords

biomarkers
cenozoic
DeepMIP
greenhouse
leaf wax
lipids

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Oceanography
Atmospheric Science
Palaeontology

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1029/2021PA004348Licence: Creative Commons: Attribution (CC BY)

InglisG2022EnhancedFinal published version, 1.05 MBLicence: Creative Commons: Attribution (CC BY)

A biomarker goldmine in Wilkes Land, Antarctica: nuggets from the Eocene Greenhouse (BIGWIG)
Bendle, J.
Natural Environment Research Council
12/11/12 → 11/05/14
Project: Research Councils

Cite this

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title = "Enhanced Terrestrial Carbon Export From East Antarctica During the Early Eocene",

abstract = "Terrestrial organic carbon (TerrOC) acts as an important CO2 sink when transported via rivers to the ocean and sequestered in coastal marine sediments. This mechanism might help to modulate atmospheric CO2 levels over short- and long- timescales (103–106 years), but its importance during past warm climates remains unknown. Here we use terrestrial biomarkers preserved in coastal marine sediment samples from Wilkes Land, East Antarctica (∼67°S) to quantify TerrOC burial during the early Eocene (∼54.4–51.5 Ma). Terrestrial biomarker distributions indicate the delivery of plant-, soil-, and peat-derived organic carbon (OC) into the marine realm. Mass accumulation rates of plant- (long-chain n-alkane) and soil-derived (hopane) biomarkers dramatically increase between the earliest Eocene (∼54 Ma) and the early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO; ∼53 Ma). This coincides with increased OC mass accumulation rates and indicates enhanced TerrOC burial during the EECO. Leaf wax δ2H values indicate that the EECO was characterized by wetter conditions relative to the earliest Eocene, suggesting that hydroclimate exerts a first-order control on TerrOC export. Our results indicate that TerrOC burial in coastal marine sediments could have acted as an important negative feedback mechanism during the early Eocene, but also during other warm climate intervals.",

keywords = "biomarkers, cenozoic, DeepMIP, greenhouse, leaf wax, lipids",

author = "Inglis, {Gordon N.} and Toney, {Jaime L.} and Jiang Zhu and Poulsen, {Christopher J.} and Ursula R{\"o}hl and Jamieson, {Stewart S.R.} and J{\"o}rg Pross and Cramwinckel, {Margot J.} and Srinath Krishnan and Mark Pagani and Bijl, {Peter K.} and James Bendle",

note = "Funding Information: This research used samples and/or data provided by the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP). G.N. Inglis was supported by a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship (DHF\R1\191178). J. Bendle and J.L. Toney were supported by NERC (NE/I00646X/2). U. R{\"o}hl and J. Pross were supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation; project no. 203022934, and no. 111964030, respectively). C.J. Poulsen was supported by the Heising‐Simons Foundation (Grant nos. 2016‐05 and 2016‐12) and the National Science Foundation (NSF; Grant no. 2002397). The CESM project is supported primarily by the National Science Foundation (NSF). This material is based upon work supported by the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which is a major facility sponsored by the NSF under Cooperative Agreement No. 1852977. Computing and data storage resources, including the Cheyenne supercomputer ( https://doi.org/10.5065/D6RX99HX ), were provided by the Computational and Information Systems Laboratory (CISL) at NCAR. The authors thank Sarah Feakins, Emily Tibbett, Bob Hilton, and one anonymous reviewer whose comments improved this manuscript significantly. Funding Information: This research used samples and/or data provided by the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP). G.N. Inglis was supported by a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship (DHF\R1\191178). J. Bendle and J.L. Toney were supported by NERC (NE/I00646X/2). U. R?hl and J. Pross were supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation; project no. 203022934, and no. 111964030, respectively). C.J. Poulsen was supported by the Heising-Simons Foundation (Grant nos. 2016-05 and 2016-12) and the National Science Foundation (NSF; Grant no. 2002397). The CESM project is supported primarily by the National Science Foundation (NSF). This material is based upon work supported by the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which is a major facility sponsored by the NSF under Cooperative Agreement No. 1852977. Computing and data storage resources, including the Cheyenne supercomputer (https://doi.org/10.5065/D6RX99HX), were provided by the Computational and Information Systems Laboratory (CISL) at NCAR. The authors thank Sarah Feakins, Emily Tibbett, Bob Hilton, and one anonymous reviewer whose comments improved this manuscript significantly. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022. The Authors.",

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AU - Röhl, Ursula

AU - Jamieson, Stewart S.R.

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N2 - Terrestrial organic carbon (TerrOC) acts as an important CO2 sink when transported via rivers to the ocean and sequestered in coastal marine sediments. This mechanism might help to modulate atmospheric CO2 levels over short- and long- timescales (103–106 years), but its importance during past warm climates remains unknown. Here we use terrestrial biomarkers preserved in coastal marine sediment samples from Wilkes Land, East Antarctica (∼67°S) to quantify TerrOC burial during the early Eocene (∼54.4–51.5 Ma). Terrestrial biomarker distributions indicate the delivery of plant-, soil-, and peat-derived organic carbon (OC) into the marine realm. Mass accumulation rates of plant- (long-chain n-alkane) and soil-derived (hopane) biomarkers dramatically increase between the earliest Eocene (∼54 Ma) and the early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO; ∼53 Ma). This coincides with increased OC mass accumulation rates and indicates enhanced TerrOC burial during the EECO. Leaf wax δ2H values indicate that the EECO was characterized by wetter conditions relative to the earliest Eocene, suggesting that hydroclimate exerts a first-order control on TerrOC export. Our results indicate that TerrOC burial in coastal marine sediments could have acted as an important negative feedback mechanism during the early Eocene, but also during other warm climate intervals.

AB - Terrestrial organic carbon (TerrOC) acts as an important CO2 sink when transported via rivers to the ocean and sequestered in coastal marine sediments. This mechanism might help to modulate atmospheric CO2 levels over short- and long- timescales (103–106 years), but its importance during past warm climates remains unknown. Here we use terrestrial biomarkers preserved in coastal marine sediment samples from Wilkes Land, East Antarctica (∼67°S) to quantify TerrOC burial during the early Eocene (∼54.4–51.5 Ma). Terrestrial biomarker distributions indicate the delivery of plant-, soil-, and peat-derived organic carbon (OC) into the marine realm. Mass accumulation rates of plant- (long-chain n-alkane) and soil-derived (hopane) biomarkers dramatically increase between the earliest Eocene (∼54 Ma) and the early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO; ∼53 Ma). This coincides with increased OC mass accumulation rates and indicates enhanced TerrOC burial during the EECO. Leaf wax δ2H values indicate that the EECO was characterized by wetter conditions relative to the earliest Eocene, suggesting that hydroclimate exerts a first-order control on TerrOC export. Our results indicate that TerrOC burial in coastal marine sediments could have acted as an important negative feedback mechanism during the early Eocene, but also during other warm climate intervals.

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M1 - e2021PA004348

ER -

Enhanced Terrestrial Carbon Export From East Antarctica During the Early Eocene

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

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Projects

A biomarker goldmine in Wilkes Land, Antarctica: nuggets from the Eocene Greenhouse (BIGWIG)

Cite this