Dry hydroclimates in the late Palaeocene-early Eocene hothouse world

Victor A. Piedrahita, Andrew P. Roberts, Eelco J. Rohling, David Heslop, Xiang Zhao, Simone Galeotti, Fabio Florindo, Katharine M. Grant, Pengxiang Hu, Jinhua Li*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Extreme global warming can produce hydroclimate changes that remain poorly understood for sub-tropical latitudes. Late Palaeocene-early Eocene (LPEE; ~58-52 Ma) proto-Mediterranean zones of the western Tethys offer opportunities to assess hydroclimate responses to massive carbon cycle perturbations. Here, we reconstruct LPEE hydroclimate conditions of these regions and find that carbon cycle perturbations exerted controls on orbitally forced hydroclimate variability. Long-term (~6 Myr) carbon cycle changes induced a gradual precipitation/moisture reduction, which was exacerbated by some short-lived (<200 kyr) carbon cycle perturbations that caused rapid warming and exceptionally dry conditions in western Tethyan continental areas. Hydroclimate recovery following the greatest short-lived global warming events took ~24-27 kyr. These observations support the notion that anthropogenically driven warming can cause widespread aridification with impacts that may last tens of thousands of years.

Original languageEnglish
Article number7042
JournalNature Communications
Volume15
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Aug 2024

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