Paleocene-Eocene carbon isotope excursion in organic carbon and pedogenic carbonate: Direct comparison in a continental stratigraphic section

Research Article| July 01, 2004 Paleocene-Eocene carbon isotope excursion in organic carbon and pedogenic carbonate: Direct comparison in a continental stratigraphic section Roberto Magioncalda; Roberto Magioncalda 1Laboratoire de Géologie Fondamentale et Appliquée, Faculté Polytechnique de Mons, rue de Houdain 9, B-7000 Mons, Belgium Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Christian Dupuis; Christian Dupuis 1Laboratoire de Géologie Fondamentale et Appliquée, Faculté Polytechnique de Mons, rue de Houdain 9, B-7000 Mons, Belgium Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Thierry Smith; Thierry Smith 2Department of Paleontology, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, rue Vautier 29, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Etienne Steurbaut; Etienne Steurbaut 2Department of Paleontology, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, rue Vautier 29, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Philip D. Gingerich Philip D. Gingerich 3Department of Geological Sciences and Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109–1079, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Roberto Magioncalda 1Laboratoire de Géologie Fondamentale et Appliquée, Faculté Polytechnique de Mons, rue de Houdain 9, B-7000 Mons, Belgium Christian Dupuis 1Laboratoire de Géologie Fondamentale et Appliquée, Faculté Polytechnique de Mons, rue de Houdain 9, B-7000 Mons, Belgium Thierry Smith 2Department of Paleontology, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, rue Vautier 29, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium Etienne Steurbaut 2Department of Paleontology, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, rue Vautier 29, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium Philip D. Gingerich 3Department of Geological Sciences and Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109–1079, USA Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 11 Jan 2004 Revision Received: 27 Feb 2004 Accepted: 29 Feb 2004 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (2004) 32 (7): 553–556. https://doi.org/10.1130/G20476.1 Article history Received: 11 Jan 2004 Revision Received: 27 Feb 2004 Accepted: 29 Feb 2004 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Roberto Magioncalda, Christian Dupuis, Thierry Smith, Etienne Steurbaut, Philip D. Gingerich; Paleocene-Eocene carbon isotope excursion in organic carbon and pedogenic carbonate: Direct comparison in a continental stratigraphic section. Geology 2004;; 32 (7): 553–556. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G20476.1 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 The negative carbon isotope excursion at the Paleocene-Eocene boundary is a chemo stratigraphic marker widely used for correlation of marine and continental stratigraphic sections. It is linked to massive dissociation of sedimentary methane hydrates and helps to explain an important greenhouse thermal event (Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum), marine extinctions, and mammalian faunal change on three continents. We show that the carbon isotope excursion recorded in dispersed organic carbon (DOC) from fine-grained terrestrial sedimentary rocks at Polecat Bench, Wyoming, is very similar to that described in two high-resolution studies of pedogenic soil-nodule carbonate from the same section. All show a rapid onset, an ∼40 m series of excursion values, and a slower recovery. However, the carbon isotope excursion in soil-nodule carbonate starts and ends ∼3–5 m lower stratigraphically than that in DOC. We hypothesize that enhanced diffusion of atmospheric CO2 and subsurface diagenesis in an environment of good drainage and elevated temperature and pCO2 may explain this offset. The reliability of δ13C in DOC is attributed to mixing and averaging of isotopic signals from different organic compounds and tissues. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.