Mercury anomalies across the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum
Large-scale magmatic events like the emplacement of the North Atlantic Igneous Province (NAIP) are often coincident with periods of extreme climate change such as the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). One proxy for volcanism in the geological record that is receiving increased attention is t...
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2019
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-217-2019 https://doaj.org/article/e97f7da960ee4886b1d6cda3d92ff75b |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:e97f7da960ee4886b1d6cda3d92ff75b 2023-05-15T15:17:40+02:00 Mercury anomalies across the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum M. T. Jones L. M. E. Percival E. W. Stokke J. Frieling T. A. Mather L. Riber B. A. Schubert B. Schultz C. Tegner S. Planke H. H. Svensen 2019-02-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-217-2019 https://doaj.org/article/e97f7da960ee4886b1d6cda3d92ff75b EN eng Copernicus Publications https://www.clim-past.net/15/217/2019/cp-15-217-2019.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1814-9324 https://doaj.org/toc/1814-9332 doi:10.5194/cp-15-217-2019 1814-9324 1814-9332 https://doaj.org/article/e97f7da960ee4886b1d6cda3d92ff75b Climate of the Past, Vol 15, Pp 217-236 (2019) Environmental pollution TD172-193.5 Environmental protection TD169-171.8 Environmental sciences GE1-350 article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-217-2019 2022-12-31T12:49:38Z Large-scale magmatic events like the emplacement of the North Atlantic Igneous Province (NAIP) are often coincident with periods of extreme climate change such as the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). One proxy for volcanism in the geological record that is receiving increased attention is the use of mercury (Hg) anomalies. Volcanic eruptions are among the dominant natural sources of Hg to the environment; thus, elevated Hg∕TOC values in the sedimentary rock record may reflect an increase in volcanic activity at the time of deposition. Here we focus on five continental shelf sections located around the NAIP in the Palaeogene. We measured Hg concentrations, total organic carbon (TOC) contents, and δ 13 C values to assess how Hg deposition fluctuated across the PETM carbon isotope excursion (CIE). We find a huge variation in Hg anomalies between sites. The Grane field in the North Sea, the most proximal locality to the NAIP analysed, shows Hg concentrations up to 90 100 ppb ( Hg∕TOC = 95 700 ppb wt % −1 ) in the early Eocene. Significant Hg∕TOC anomalies are also present in Danish (up to 324 ppb wt % −1 ) and Svalbard (up to 257 ppb wt % −1 ) sections prior to the onset of the PETM and during the recovery period, while the Svalbard section also shows a continuous Hg∕TOC anomaly during the body of the CIE. The combination with other tracers of volcanism, such as tephra layers and unradiogenic Os isotopes, at these localities suggests that the Hg∕TOC anomalies reflect pulses of magmatic activity. In contrast, we do not observe clear Hg anomalies on the New Jersey shelf (Bass River) or the Arctic Ocean (Lomonosov Ridge). This large spatial variance could be due to more regional Hg deposition. One possibility is that phreatomagmatic eruptions and hydrothermal vent complexes formed during the emplacement of sills led to submarine Hg release, which is observed to result in limited distribution in the modern era. The Hg∕TOC anomalies in strata deposited prior to the CIE may suggest that magmatism linked to the ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Ocean Climate change Lomonosov Ridge North Atlantic Svalbard Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Arctic Ocean Grane ENVELOPE(13.385,13.385,65.539,65.539) Svalbard Climate of the Past 15 1 217 236 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental pollution TD172-193.5 Environmental protection TD169-171.8 Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental pollution TD172-193.5 Environmental protection TD169-171.8 Environmental sciences GE1-350 M. T. Jones L. M. E. Percival E. W. Stokke J. Frieling T. A. Mather L. Riber B. A. Schubert B. Schultz C. Tegner S. Planke H. H. Svensen Mercury anomalies across the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum |
topic_facet |
Environmental pollution TD172-193.5 Environmental protection TD169-171.8 Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
description |
Large-scale magmatic events like the emplacement of the North Atlantic Igneous Province (NAIP) are often coincident with periods of extreme climate change such as the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). One proxy for volcanism in the geological record that is receiving increased attention is the use of mercury (Hg) anomalies. Volcanic eruptions are among the dominant natural sources of Hg to the environment; thus, elevated Hg∕TOC values in the sedimentary rock record may reflect an increase in volcanic activity at the time of deposition. Here we focus on five continental shelf sections located around the NAIP in the Palaeogene. We measured Hg concentrations, total organic carbon (TOC) contents, and δ 13 C values to assess how Hg deposition fluctuated across the PETM carbon isotope excursion (CIE). We find a huge variation in Hg anomalies between sites. The Grane field in the North Sea, the most proximal locality to the NAIP analysed, shows Hg concentrations up to 90 100 ppb ( Hg∕TOC = 95 700 ppb wt % −1 ) in the early Eocene. Significant Hg∕TOC anomalies are also present in Danish (up to 324 ppb wt % −1 ) and Svalbard (up to 257 ppb wt % −1 ) sections prior to the onset of the PETM and during the recovery period, while the Svalbard section also shows a continuous Hg∕TOC anomaly during the body of the CIE. The combination with other tracers of volcanism, such as tephra layers and unradiogenic Os isotopes, at these localities suggests that the Hg∕TOC anomalies reflect pulses of magmatic activity. In contrast, we do not observe clear Hg anomalies on the New Jersey shelf (Bass River) or the Arctic Ocean (Lomonosov Ridge). This large spatial variance could be due to more regional Hg deposition. One possibility is that phreatomagmatic eruptions and hydrothermal vent complexes formed during the emplacement of sills led to submarine Hg release, which is observed to result in limited distribution in the modern era. The Hg∕TOC anomalies in strata deposited prior to the CIE may suggest that magmatism linked to the ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
M. T. Jones L. M. E. Percival E. W. Stokke J. Frieling T. A. Mather L. Riber B. A. Schubert B. Schultz C. Tegner S. Planke H. H. Svensen |
author_facet |
M. T. Jones L. M. E. Percival E. W. Stokke J. Frieling T. A. Mather L. Riber B. A. Schubert B. Schultz C. Tegner S. Planke H. H. Svensen |
author_sort |
M. T. Jones |
title |
Mercury anomalies across the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum |
title_short |
Mercury anomalies across the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum |
title_full |
Mercury anomalies across the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum |
title_fullStr |
Mercury anomalies across the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mercury anomalies across the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum |
title_sort |
mercury anomalies across the palaeocene–eocene thermal maximum |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-217-2019 https://doaj.org/article/e97f7da960ee4886b1d6cda3d92ff75b |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(13.385,13.385,65.539,65.539) |
geographic |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Grane Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Grane Svalbard |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Climate change Lomonosov Ridge North Atlantic Svalbard |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Climate change Lomonosov Ridge North Atlantic Svalbard |
op_source |
Climate of the Past, Vol 15, Pp 217-236 (2019) |
op_relation |
https://www.clim-past.net/15/217/2019/cp-15-217-2019.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1814-9324 https://doaj.org/toc/1814-9332 doi:10.5194/cp-15-217-2019 1814-9324 1814-9332 https://doaj.org/article/e97f7da960ee4886b1d6cda3d92ff75b |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-217-2019 |
container_title |
Climate of the Past |
container_volume |
15 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
217 |
op_container_end_page |
236 |
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1766347914943135744 |