TY  - JOUR
A1  - Methner, Katharina
A1  - Lenz, Olaf
A1  - Riegel, Walter
A1  - Wilde, Volker
A1  - Mulch, Andreas
T1  - Palaeoenvironmental response of mid-latitudinal wetlands to PETM climate change (Schöningen lignite deposits, Germany)
T2  - Climate of the past discussions
N2  - The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) offers insight into massive short-term carbon cycle perturbations that caused significant warming during a high-pCO2 world, affecting both marine and terrestrial ecosystems. PETM records from the marine-terrestrial interface (e.g. estuarine swamps and mire deposits) are, therefore, of great interest as their present-day counterparts are highly vulnerable to future climate and sea level change. Here, we assess paleoenvironmental changes of mid-latitudinal Late Paleocene-Early Eocene peat mire records along the paleo-North Sea coast. We provide carbon isotope data of bulk organic matter (δ13CTOC), organic carbon content (%TOC), and palynological data from an extensive peat mire deposited at a mid-latitudinal (ca. 41 °N) coastal site (Schöningen, Germany). The δ13CTOC data show a carbon isotope excursion (CIE) of −1.7 ‰ coeval with a conspicuous Apectodinium acme, calling for the presence of the PETM in this coastal section. Due to the exceptionally large stratigraphic thickness of the PETM at Schöningen (10 m of section) we established a detailed palynological record that indicates only minor changes in paleovegetation leading to and during the PETM. Instead, paleovegetation changes mostly follow natural successions in response to changes along the marine-terrestrial interface. Compared to other available peat mire records (Cobham, UK; Vasterival, France) it appears that wetland deposits around the Paleogene North Sea have a typical CIE magnitude of ca. −1.3 ‰ in δ13CTOC. Moreover, the Schöningen record shares major characteristics with the Cobham Lignite, including evidence for increased fire activity prior to the PETM, minor PETM-related plant species changes, a reduced CIE in δ13CTOC, and drowning of the mire (marine ingressions) during much of the PETM. This suggests that paleoenvironmental conditions during the Late Paleocene-Early Eocene, including the PETM, consistently affected major segments of the paleo-North Sea coast.
Y1  - 2019
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/49951
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-499519
SN  - 1814-9340
N1  - © Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
VL  - 2019
SP  - 1
EP  - 23
PB  - European Geosciences Union
CY  - Katlenburg-Lindau
ER  -