Paleocene/ecocene catastrophic events recorded by oceanic basins and global implications

Early Tertiary climate, and in particular the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), has been recently compared to the present day climatic conditions, due to the similarity in sudden carbon release forcing global temperature increase. Recreating the gl obal conditions from 55 million years ago is possible by studying the geological record and building models to explain the succession of events and triggering factors, an useful exercise for better understanding the present day world. Realistic oceanic and climate modeling requires in depth knowledge of the four dimensional distribution of land and oceans in order to advance our knowledge of climate sensitivity to geological vs. anthropogenic climate changes. Here we propose a collaborative project that aims to reconstruct the global tectonic framework of the Paleocene/Eocene hyperthermal world. This model will build on extensive global oceanic crust databases developed at NGU and SIO and will constitute the basis for the new generation of global digita l 4D oceanic crust models to be used as first order boundary conditions for oceanic and climate modeling, paleogeography and therefore natural reserve distribution. The main objectives of this collaboration are: (1) to examine in details the magnetic and gravity anomalies of the Paleocene/Eocene oceanic crust in the Pacific ocean and create an Early Tertiary regional age model (2) identify major tectonic changes in the Pacific region, in particular changes that have directly destabilized the regional en vironment and (3) estimate how the tectonic changes propagated and affected surrounding regions by linking the new Pacific oceanic crust model with the other major oceanic areas (Atlantic and Indian) through global plate circuits. Ultimately, a range of o ceanic crust parameters can be used as a first order input in modeling the Early Tertiary paleobathymetry and global carbon cycle in order to elucidate the role played by tectonic forcing in global climate.