Ocean temperatures through the Phanerozoic reassessed.

ABSTRACT: The oxygen isotope compositions of carbonate and phosphatic fossils hold the key to understanding Earth-system evolution during the last 500 million years. Unfortunately, the validity and interpretation of this record remain unsettled. Our comprehensive compilation of Phanerozoic δ¹⁸O data for carbonate and phosphate fossils and microfossils (totaling 22,332 and 4615 analyses, respectively) shows rapid shifts best explained by temperature change. In calculating paleotemperatures, we apply a constant hydrosphere δ¹⁸O, correct seawater δ¹⁸O for ice volume and paleolatitude, and correct belemnite δ¹⁸O values for ¹⁸O enrichment. Similar paleotemperature trends for carbonates and phosphates confirm retention of original isotopic signatures.

SUBMITTER: Grossman EL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9142518 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature