Jaimes-Gutierrez, Rocio;
Vimpere, Lucas;
Wilson, David J;
Blaser, Patrick;
Pogge von Strandmann, Philip AE;
Adatte, Thierry;
Sahoo, Swapan;
(2025)
Lithium isotopes reveal enhanced weathering fluxes in North America during the Paleocene−Eocene Thermal Maximum.
Geology
10.1130/g53708.1.
(In press).
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Abstract
Silicate weathering regulates Earth’s long-term climate by removing atmospheric CO2. Understanding changes in weathering regimes and rates is key to predicting climate response time scales. We investigated the reactivity of the North American source-to-sink system and the chemical weathering regime during the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). We measured the detrital lithium isotope composition (δ7 Li) in a deepmarine sediment core from the Gulf of Mexico, tracking changes in the formation of clay minerals, alongside neodymium isotopes (εNd), to constrain sediment provenance. We find a buffered negative δ7 Li excursion during the PETM body, likely reflecting the mixing of neoformed and reworked clays from continental floodplains, followed by a stronger negative δ7 Li excursion during the recovery phase. This pattern aligns with the continental Bighorn Basin (Wyoming, USA) δ7 Li record, indicating rapid propagation of enhanced weathering and erosion fluxes in response to the PETM, which would have contributed to efficient CO2 drawdown.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Lithium isotopes reveal enhanced weathering fluxes in North America during the Paleocene−Eocene Thermal Maximum |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1130/g53708.1 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1130/g53708.1 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © 2025 The Authors. This paper is published under the terms of the CC-BY license, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Earth Sciences |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10219039 |
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