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Ocean temperatures and isotopic compositions through time

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2011

J. D. Hudson  and
T. F. Anderson
J. D. Hudson
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Leicester, LEI 7RH, U.K.
T. F. Anderson
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Illinoisat Urbana-Champaign, 245 Natural History Building, 1301 West Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801, U.S.A.
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Abstract

Fossil assemblages can give quantitative estimates of palaeotemperatures, by comparison with modern biota, only in the recent geological past. Oxygen isotopic palaeotemperatures on calcareous or phosphatic fossils are potentially available for the whole Phanerozoic. Their reliability is limited by physiological effects (generally believed minor), preservation (for which criteria are available), and by uncertainty in the isotopic composition of ancient seawater. The latter is greatly affected by glaciation. In the Cenozoic, the relative contribution of ice-volume change and temperature change in producing isotopic variations can largely be resolved by analysing planktonic and benthic foraminifera in deep-sea cores. For earlier times only continental shelf deposits are available. In the Mesozoic, reasonable assumptions about ocean isotopic composition lead to palaeotemperature estimates that suggest generally higher temperatures than at present, particularly for mid- to high latitudes. This agrees with estimates based on biotic distributions. Late Palaeozoic glaciation is reflected in variable isotopic compositions in high palaeolatitude areas. In the earlier Palaeozoic, well-preserved fossils indicate either oceans enriched in 16O compared to today's or generally higher temperatures; controversy continues about the relative importance of the two effects.

Keywords

oxygen isotopespalaeoceanographypalaeoclimates
Type
Evolution of the Earth's environment through time
Information
Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of The Royal Society of Edinburgh , Volume 80 , Issue 3-4: Environments and Physiology of Fossil Organisms , 1989 , pp. 183 - 192
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1989

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