Jiggling the tropical thermostat in the Cretaceous hothouse

Research Article| April 01, 2002 Jiggling the tropical thermostat in the Cretaceous hothouse Richard D. Norris; Richard D. Norris 1Department of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543-1541, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Karen L. Bice; Karen L. Bice 1Department of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543-1541, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Elizabeth A. Magno; Elizabeth A. Magno 2Department of Geology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Paul A. Wilson Paul A. Wilson 3Southampton Oceanography Centre, School of Ocean and Earth Science, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (2002) 30 (4): 299–302. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2002)0302.0.CO;2 Article history received: 25 May 2001 rev-recd: 26 Oct 2001 accepted: 06 Dec 2001 first online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Richard D. Norris, Karen L. Bice, Elizabeth A. Magno, Paul A. Wilson; Jiggling the tropical thermostat in the Cretaceous hothouse. Geology 2002;; 30 (4): 299–302. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2002)0302.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Modern open-ocean sea-surface temperatures rarely exceed ∼28–29 °C, and the same has been thought to represent a rough maximum for past tropical climates. However, new isotopic estimates from the uppermost Cenomanian in the tropical western North Atlantic suggest that mixed-layer temperatures reached ∼33–34 °C (± 2 °C) during the middle Cretaceous hothouse. Uppermost Cenomanian tropical sea-surface temperatures may have been as much as 4–7 °C warmer than the highest modern mean annual temperatures. Such extreme conditions suggest that warm tropical oceans could have driven substantially intensified atmospheric heat transport near the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary. The tropical "thermostat" was set higher than today, challenging the hypothesis of tropical climate stability. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.