Did the rifting of the Atlantic Ocean cause the Cretaceous thermal maximum?

Research Article| February 01, 2003 Did the rifting of the Atlantic Ocean cause the Cretaceous thermal maximum? Christopher J. Poulsen; Christopher J. Poulsen 1Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Andrew S. Gendaszek; Andrew S. Gendaszek 2Department of Geology, Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota 55057, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Robert L. Jacob Robert L. Jacob 3Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Christopher J. Poulsen 1Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA Andrew S. Gendaszek 2Department of Geology, Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota 55057, USA Robert L. Jacob 3Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 24 Jun 2002 Revision Received: 02 Oct 2002 Accepted: 07 Oct 2002 First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (2003) 31 (2): 115–118. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2003)031<0115:DTROTA>2.0.CO;2 Article history Received: 24 Jun 2002 Revision Received: 02 Oct 2002 Accepted: 07 Oct 2002 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 Christopher J. Poulsen, Andrew S. Gendaszek, Robert L. Jacob; Did the rifting of the Atlantic Ocean cause the Cretaceous thermal maximum?. Geology 2003;; 31 (2): 115–118. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2003)031<0115:DTROTA>2.0.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 The Cretaceous thermal maximum was a major turning point in the history of Earth's climate. This interval of peak warmth in the Turonian has been attributed to very high atmospheric pCO2 resulting from rapid outgassing rates, although crustal cycling rates peaked in the Aptian–Albian interval. On the basis of coupled ocean-atmosphere model simulations of the middle Cretaceous, we hypothesize that the formation of an Atlantic gateway could have contributed to the Cretaceous thermal maximum. Differences between prerifting and postrifting climate experiments demonstrate substantial regional oceanographic changes in the North and South Atlantic Basins that are consistent with oxygen isotopic evidence used to infer a Cretaceous thermal maximum. The model results help reconcile the paleoclimate record inferred from foraminiferal δ18O with our understanding of climate dynamics and Cretaceous tectonism. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.