The Paleocene carbon isotope maximum
Carbon burial peaks around 58 million years ago, drawing down the atmosphere before the swing back.
- When
- —
- Duration
- 1.5 million years
- Known to
- ± 500 thousand years
- Era
- Paleocene, Cenozoic
Through the middle and late Paleocene the carbon isotope record climbs to its highest sustained values of the Cenozoic, reflecting large-scale burial of organic carbon — the extensive coals of this interval are part of the same story. Atmospheric carbon dioxide falls and climate cools relative to the Cretaceous. It is the low point before a very sharp rise: within two million years the trend reverses completely and the largest carbon release of the era begins.