Paleo-pCO2 Database Cenozoic Stomata CO2 Data Steinthorsdottir, M. Steinthorsdottir, M. earth science/paleoclimate/climate forcing (Global>LATITUDE >LONGITUDE ) A unique stratigraphic sequence of fossil leaves of Eotrigonobalanus furcinervis (extinct trees of the beech family, Fagaceae) from central Germany has been used to derive an atmospheric pCO2 record with multiple data points spanning the late middle to late Eocene, two sampling levels which may be earliest Oligocene, and two samples from later in the Oligocene. Using the inverse relationship between the density of stomata and pCO2, we show that pCO2 decreased continuously from the late middle to late Eocene, reaching a relatively stable low value before the end of the Eocene. Based on the subsequent records, pCO2 in parts of the Oligocene was similar to latest Eocene values. These results suggest that a decrease in pCO2 preceded the large shift in marine oxygen isotope records that characterizes the Eocene-Oligocene transition and that when a certain threshold of pCO2 change was crossed, the cumulative effects of this and other factors resulted in rapid temperature decline, ice build up on Antarctica and hence a change of climate mode. STUDY NOTES: Paleo-CO2 derived from fossil plant stomata, contributed to the Paleo-pCO2 Database NCDC-Paleoclimatology https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/paleoclimatology-data - Bauer Bruce Investigator : Steinthorsdottir, M. 2018-12-25 ONLINE Files online, ASCII https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/25910 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/climate_forcing/trace_gases/Paleo-pCO2/steinthorsdottir2016stomata.xlsx https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/climate_forcing/trace_gases/Paleo-pCO2/steinthorsdottir2016stomata.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/climate_forcing/trace_gases/Paleo-pCO2/steinthorsdottir2016stomata.xlsx https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/climate_forcing/trace_gases/Paleo-pCO2/steinthorsdottir2016stomata.txt English https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/25910 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/climate_forcing/trace_gases/Paleo-pCO2/steinthorsdottir2016stomata.xlsx https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/climate_forcing/trace_gases/Paleo-pCO2/steinthorsdottir2016stomata.txt Margret Steinthorsdottir, Amanda S. Porter, Aidan Holohan, Lutz Kunzmann, Margaret Collinson, and Jennifer C. McElwain2016Fossil plant stomata indicate decreasing atmospheric CO2 prior to the Eocene-Oligocene boundaryClimate of the Past122439-45410.5194/cp-12-439-2016https://www.clim-past.net/12/439/2016/ Margret Steinthorsdottir, Vivi Vajda, Mike Pole2016Global trends of pCO2 across the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary supported by the first Southern Hemisphere stomatal proxy-based pCO2 reconstructionPalaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology464143-15210.1016/j.palaeo.2016.04.033https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031018216300967 Margret Steinthorsdottir, Vivi Vajda, Mike Pole2019Significant transient pCO2 perturbation at the New Zealand Oligocene-Miocene transition recorded by fossil plant stomataPalaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology515152-16110.1016/j.palaeo.2018.01.039https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031018217307332 START YEAR: 65900000 cal yr BP * END YEAR: 19000000 cal yr BP -180 -90 180 90