The Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) was an interval of extreme global warmth, with elevated temperatures at the tropics and high latitudes. Arctic temperatures were greater than 20oC. At University College London masters students in Earth Sciences are examining a replica of an ocean core from the South Atlantic Ocean. This core was collected by the Ocean Drilling Program (now called the International Ocean Discovery Program). The sedimentary changes reflect dramatic variations in the Earth’s climate. During the PETM ocean acidification occurred, impacting the depth in the ocean that carbonate dissolves.
This assignment was carried out as part of the Palaeoceanography course that provides an overview of ocean and climate history through time, including an introduction to the main proxies (geochemical and palaeontological) used to reconstruct past ocean environments.