KBZPT 96 PDF
KBZPT 96 PDF
KBZPT 96 PDF
ABSTRACT
The planktonic foraminiferal genera Morozovella and Acarinina rapidly (in ;10 k.y.)
diversified during the late Paleocene thermal maximum (LPTM), giving rise to such mor-
photypes as M. allisonensis (new species), M. africana, and A. sibaiyaensis. Single-specimen
isotopic analysis confirms that M. allisonensis and A. sibaiyaensis are restricted to the LPTM
carbon isotope excursion recorded at Ocean Drilling Program Site 865 (equatorial Pacific
Ocean). The short-lived (50 to several 100 k.y.) excursion taxa attest to the ephemeral
effects of the LPTM on the calcareous plankton. Single-specimen oxygen isotope data show
that evolution of M. allisonensis and A. sibaiyaensis was accompanied by migration to
deeper water depths. Ancestral M. velascoensis and A. soldadoensis were extremely rare or
absent during the early stages of the LPTM, but immigrated back into the study area to
coexist with their descendants in later LPTM horizons. Photosymbiosis may have facili-
tated the morozovellid and acarininid diversifications during the oligotrophic conditions of
the LPTM.
INTRODUCTION and the most dramatic extinction of deep- We report the findings of an investigation
One of the largest and most sudden global sea benthic foraminifera of the past 100 m.y. of the planktonic foraminiferal and calcar-
temperature increases of the Phanerozoic (e.g., Tjalsma and Lohmann, 1983; Thomas, eous nannoplankton responses to the LPTM
Era occurred during the latest Paleocene 1990). The benthic foraminiferal extinction as recorded at Ocean Drilling Program
(;55.5 Ma); Zachos et al. (1993) referred to has been interpreted as resulting from low- (ODP) Site 865. ODP Site 865 (lat
this warming event as the late Paleocene ered levels of dissolved oxygen in oceanic 18826.419N, long 179833.349W) is located
thermal maximum (LPTM). Benthic fora- deep waters (e.g., Thomas, 1990; Kennett atop Allison Guyot in the Mid-Pacific Moun-
miniferal d18O values indicate that oceanic and Stott, 1991). The combined geochemi- tains at a water depth of 1518 m (Bralower
deep waters warmed substantially world- cal and paleontological evidence has led re- et al., 1995). Paleolatitude projections posi-
wide, from ;10 to ;18 8C in high latitudes searchers to postulate that the source area tion Site 865 at ;28N during the late Paleo-
(Kennett and Stott, 1991), and from ;10 to for oceanic deep-water formation tempo- cene (R. Larson, 1994, personal commun.).
;16 8C in the tropics (Bralower et al., 1995). rarily shifted from high- to low-latitude re- Bralower et al. (1995) established that the
Sea-surface temperatures, as recorded in gions during the LPTM (e.g., Miller et al., LPTM d18O and d13C negative excursions
planktonic foraminiferal d18O values, in- 1987). occur over a relatively thin stratigraphic in-
creased from ;14 to ;20 8C at high lati- Although geographic coverage has been terval (;15 cm) in Holes 865B and 865C.
tudes (Kennett and Stott, 1991), but showed adequate to document the global extent of The benthic foraminiferal extinction has
little change at low latitudes (Bralower et the LPTM, the paucity of suitable marine been identified near the bottom of this 15
al., 1995), leading to diminished vertical and sections from equatorial regions has hin- cm interval (102.94 102.96 mbsf [metres be-
latitudinal thermal gradients. dered attempts to identify potential tropical low sea floor] in Hole 865C). Detailed as-
The change from background Paleocene source areas for deep-water formation. This semblage work from this geographically im-
climatic conditions into the LPTM has been shortcoming has been exacerbated by a lack portant site has been combined with
estimated to have taken no more than 10 of information regarding the effects of the measurements of stable isotope ratios of sin-
kyr breakneck speeds by geologic stan- LPTM on surface-water microbiotas. Stud- gle specimens of planktonic foraminifera to
dardswith LPTM conditions persisting for ies (Lu and Keller, 1995) have shown that elucidate the behavior of equatorial Pacific
only 50 to several 100 k.y. (e.g., Kennett and the number of planktonic foraminiferal spe- surface waters during the LPTM.
Stott, 1991; Thomas and Shackleton, 1996). cies increased dramatically during the latest
Coincident with the LPTM was an abrupt Paleocene, but the driving mechanism(s) METHODS
negative isotopic excursion in the global car- and evolutionary mode(s) responsible for We focused on the 100 105 mbsf strati-
bon resevoir (e.g., Kennett and Stott, 1991) this diversification remain obscure. graphic interval of Hole 865C, sampling at