(Table 1) Sea-surface temperatures, intermediate-water temperatures, and latitudinal gradient at three time slices at the end of the Cretaceous

• Main Authors: Li, Liangquan, Keller, Gerta
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 1998
• Subjects: 113-690; 74-525; Age; maximum/old; minimum/young; Comment; COMPCORE; Composite Core; DRILL; Drilling/drill rig; Event label; Glomar Challenger; Gradient; Joides Resolution; Leg113; Leg74; Ocean Drilling Program; ODP; South Atlantic/CREST; South Atlantic Ocean; Temperature; water
• Online Access: https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.712434; https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.712434

Climatic and oceanographic variations during the last 2 m.y. of the Maastrichtian inferred from high-resolution (10 k.y.) stable isotope analysis of the mid-latitude South Atlantic Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 525 reveal a major warm pulse followed by rapid cooling prior to the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary. Between 66.85 and 65.52 Ma, cool but fluctuating temperatures average 9.9 and 15.4°C in intermediate and surface waters, respectively. This interval is followed by an abrupt short-term warming between 65.45 and 65.11 Ma, which increased temperatures by 2-3°C in intermediate waters, and decreased the vertical thermal gradient to an average of 2.7°C. This warm pulse may be linked to increased atmospheric pCO2, increased poleward heat transport, and the switch of an intermediate water source from high to low-middle latitudes. During the last 100 k.y. of the Maastrichtian, intermediate and surface temperatures decreased by an average of 2.1 and 1.4°C, respectively, compared to the maximum temperature between 65.32 and 65.24 Ma.