Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-vdxz6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T15:13:59.314Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Palaeoclimatic implications of high-resolution clay mineral assemblages preceding and across the onset of the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum, North Sea Basin

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Simon J. Kemp ,
Michael A. Ellis ,
Ian Mounteney  and
Sev Kender
Simon J. Kemp*
Affiliation:
British Geological Survey, Environmental Science Centre, Nicker Hill, Keyworth, Nottingham NG12 5GG, UK
Michael A. Ellis
Affiliation:
British Geological Survey, Environmental Science Centre, Nicker Hill, Keyworth, Nottingham NG12 5GG, UK
Ian Mounteney
Affiliation:
British Geological Survey, Environmental Science Centre, Nicker Hill, Keyworth, Nottingham NG12 5GG, UK
Sev Kender
Affiliation:
British Geological Survey, Environmental Science Centre, Nicker Hill, Keyworth, Nottingham NG12 5GG, UK Centre for Environmental Geochemistry, School of Geography, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
*
*E-mail: [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Understanding the composition of clay-rich sediments and their transportation into proximal marine basins allows us to better decipher hydroclimatic changes before and within the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). Only a limited number of such studies exists from the North Sea Basin, which was proximal to the volcanic activity and early rifting hypothesized to have triggered the PETM. The present study examines core material from well 22/10a-4, UK North Sea, as it exhibits an exceptionally expanded and almost stratigraphically complete fine-grained sedimentary sequence suitable for high-resolution analysis.

Quantitative Newmod-for-Windows™-modelled clay mineral assemblages, rather than traditional semi-quantitative estimates, are dominated by smectite-rich, interlayered illite-smectite that probably developed from volcanogenic deposits on continental landmasses. Soil development before the PETM is consistent with the existence of a seasonal tropical climate with a prolonged dry season. A striking rise and fall of kaolinite content within the PETM onset, prior to the principal carbon-isotope excursion, is reported here. This variation is interpreted as a signal of an enhanced hydrologic cycle producing an increase in erosionally derived kaolinite, followed by a dampening of this detrital source as sea-levels rose. Global variations in PETM kaolinite concentrations are consistent with a latitudinal shift in patterns of precipitation in models of global warming.

Keywords

Palaeocene–Eocene ThermalMaximum (PETM)clay mineralskaoliniteerosionNorth Sea22/10a-4
Type
Research Article
Information
Clay Minerals , Volume 51 , Issue 5 , December 2016 , pp. 793 - 813
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2016 This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution license. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2016

References

Adatte, T., Khozyem, H., Spangenberg, J.E., Samant, B. & Keller, G. (2014) Response of terrestrial environment to the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), new insights from India and NE Spain. Rendiconti della Societd Geologica Italiana, 31, 5–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alt, J.C. & Jiang, W.-T. (1991) Hydrothermally precipitated mixed-layer illite-smectite in recent massive sulfide deposits from the sea floor. Geology, 19, 570–573.2.3.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bergaya, E., Theng, B.K.G. & Lagaly, G. (2006) Handbook of Clay Science. Developments in Clay Science, Elsevier, Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Berggren, W.A., Alegret, L., Aubry, M.-R., Cramer, B.S., Dupuis, C., Goolaerts, S., Kemt, D.Y., King, C., Knox, R.W.O'B., Obaidalla, N., Ortiz, S., Ouda, K.A.K., Abdel-Sabour, A., Salem, R., Senosy, M.M., Soliman, M.F. & Soliman, A. (2012) The Dababiya Corehole, Upper Nile Valley, Egypt: Preliminary results. Austrian Journal of Earth Science, 105, 161–168.Google Scholar
Berstad, S. & Dypvik, H. (1982) Sedimentological evolution and natural radioactivity of Tertiary sedi-ments from the Central North Sea. Journal of Petroleum Geology, 5, 77–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Biscaye, R.E. (1965) Mineralogy and sedimentation of recent deep sea clay in the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas and oceans. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 76, 803–832.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bolle, M.P. & Adatte, T. (2001) Palaeocene-early Eocene climatic evolution in the Tethyan realm: Clay mineral evidence. Clay Minerals, 36, 249–261.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bornemann, A., Norris, R.D., Lyman, J.A., D'haenens, S., Groeneveld, J., Rohl, U., Farley, K.A. & Speijer, R.P. (2014) Persistent environmental change after the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum in the eastern North Atlantic. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 394, 70–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowen, G.J., Beerling, D.J., Koch, P.L., Zachos, J.C., Alroy, J. & Quattlebaum, T. (2004) A humid climate state during the Palaeocene/Eocene thermal maximum. Nature, 432, 495–499.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Caballero, R. & Langen, P. (2005) The dynamic range of poleward energy transport in an atmospheric general circulation model. Geophysical Research Letters, 32, doi: 10.1029/2004GL021581.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chamley, H. (1989) Clay Sedimentology Springer, Berlin. Heidelberg New York, 623 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chenot, E., Pellenard, P., Martinez, M., Deconinck, J.-K., Amiotte-Suchet, P., Thibault, N., Bruneau, L., Cocquerez, T., Laffont, R., Puceat, E. & Robaszynski, F. (2016) Clay mineralogical and geochemical expressions of the “Late Campanian Event” in the Aquitaine and Paris basins (France): Palaeoenvironmental implications. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology and Palaeoecology 447, 42–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clechenko, E.R., Clay Kelly, D., Harrington, G.J. & Stiles, C.A. (2007) Terrestrial records of a regional weathering profile at the Paleocene-Eocene boundary in the Williston Basin of North Dakota. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 119, 429–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CO2.earth. (2016) https://www.co2.earth,accessedon17/03/2106.Google Scholar
Dypvik, H., Riber, L., Burca, F., Ruther, D., Jargvoll, D., Nagy, J. & Jochmann, M. (2011) The Palaeocene— Eocene thermal maximum (PETM) in Svalbard — clay mineral and geochemical signals. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology and Palaeoecology, 302, 156–159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foreman, B.Z., Heller, P.L. & Clementz, M.T. (2012) Fluvial response to abrupt global warming at the Palaeocene/Eocene boundary. Nature, 491, 92–95.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Freebairn, D.M., Loch, R.J. & Silburn, D.M. (1996) Soil erosion and soil conservation for vertisols. Pp. 303–362 in: Vertisols and Technologies for their Management (N. Ahmad & A. Mermut, editors). Developments in Soil Science, 24, Elsevier, Amsterdam.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gawenda, P., Winkler, W., Schmitz, B. & Adatte, T. (1999) Climate and bioproductivity control on carbonate turbidite sedimentation (Paleocene to earliest Eocene, Gulf of Biscay, Zumaia, Spain). Journal of Sedimentary Research, 69, 1253–1261.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibson, T.G. & Bybell, L.M. (1994) Sedimentary patterns across the Paleocene—Eocene boundary in the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains of the United States. Bulletin de la Societe Beige de Geologie, 103, 237–265.Google Scholar
Gibson, T.G., Bybell, L.M. & Owens, I.P. (1993) Latest Paleocene lithologic and biotic events in neritic deposits of southwestern New Jersey. Paleoceanography, 8, 495–514.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibson, T.G., Bybell, L.M. & Mason, D.B. (2000) Stratigraphic and climatic implications of clay mineral changes around the Paleocene/Eocene boundary of the northeastern US margin. Sedimentary Geology, 134, 65–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gillmore, G.K., Kjennerud, T. & Kyrkjebo, R. (2001) The reconstruction and analysis of palaeowater depths: a new approach and test of micropalaeontological approaches in the post rift (Cretaceous to Quaternary) interval of the northern North Sea. Pp. 365–381 in: Sedimentary Environments Offshore Norway - Palaeozoic to Recent (O. J. Martinsen & T Dreyer, editors). Norwegian Petroleum Society (NPF), Trondheim, Special Publication 10. Elsevier, Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Glennie, K.W. (1986) Structural framework and pre-Permian history of the North Sea area. Pp. 26—62 in: Introduction to the Petroleum Geology of the North Sea (KW. Glennie, editor). Blackwell, Oxford, UK.Google Scholar
Godet, A., Bodin, S., Adatte, T. & Follmi, K.B. (2008) Platform-induced clay-mineral fractionation along a northern Tethyan basin-platform transect: implications for the interpretation of Early Cretaceous climate change (Late Hauterivian—Early Aptian). Cretaceous Research, 29, 830–847.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harding, I.C., Charles, A.I., Marshall, J.E.A., Palike, H., Roberts, A.P., Wilson, P.A., Jarvis, E., Thorne, R., Morris, E., Moremon, R., Pearce, R.B. & Akbari, S. (2011) Sea-level and salinity fluctuations during the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum in Arctic Spitsbergen. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 303, 97–107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harrington, G.J. & Kemp, S.J. (2001) US Gulf Coast vegetation dynamics during the latest Palaeocene. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology andPalaeoecology, 167/1-2, 1–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harrington, G.J., Kemp, S.J. & Koch, P.L. (2004) Palaeocene-Eocene paratropical floral change in North America: responses to climate change and plant immigration. Journal of the Geological Society, London. 161, 173–184.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haszeldine, R.S. & Russell, M.J. (1987) The late Carboniferous northern Atlantic Ocean: implications for hydrocarbon exploration from Britain to the Arctic. Pp. 1163–1175 in: Petroleum Geology of North West Europe (J. Brooks & K Glennie, editors). Graham & Trotman, London.Google Scholar
Hermoso, M. & Pellenard, P. (2014) Continental weath ering and climatic changes inferred from clay mineralogy and paired carbon isotopes across the early to middle Toarcian in the Paris Basin. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology andPalaeoecology, 399, 385–393.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hillier, S. (1995) Erosion, sedimentation and sedimentary origin of clays. Pp. 162—219 in: Origin and Mineralogy of Clays (B. Velde, editor). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York.Google Scholar
Hower, I., Eslinger, E.V., Hower, M.E. & Perry, E.A. (1976) Mechanism of burial metamorphism of argillaceous sediments: Mineralogical and chemical evidence. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 87, 725–37.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huggett, J.M. (1992) Petrography, mineralogy and dia-genesis of overpressured Tertiary and Late Cretaceous mudrocks from the East Shetland Basin. Clay Minerals, 27, 487–506.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huggett, J.M. (1995) Formation of authigenic illite in Paleocene mudrocks from the Central North Sea: a study by high resolution electron microscopy. Clays and Clay Minerals, 43, 682–692.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huggett, J.M. (1996) Aluminosilicate diagenesis in a Tertiary sandstone-mudrock sequence from the Central North Sea, UK. Clay Minerals, 31, 523–536.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huggett, J.M. & Knox, R.W.O'B. (2006) Clay mineralogy of the Tertiary onshore and offshore strata of the British Isles. Clay Minerals, 41, 5–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inoue, A. (1995) Formation of clay minerals in hydrother-mal environments. Pp. 268—329 in: Origin and Mineralogy of Clays (B. Velde, editor). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York.Google Scholar
Jaramillo, C. & 28 others, (2010) Effects of rapid global warming at the Paleocene-Eocene boundary on Neotropical vegetation. Science, 330, 957–961.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
John, C.M., Bohaty, S.M., Zachos, J.C., Gibbs, S., Brinkhuis, H., Sluijs, A. & Bralower, T. (2008) Impact of the Paleocene—Eocene thermal maximum on continental margins and implications for the carbon cycle in near-shore environments. Paleoceanography, 23, PA2217.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
John, C.M., Banerjee, N.R., Longstaffe, F.J., Sica, C., Law, K.R. & Zachos, J.C. (2012) Clay assemblage and oxygen isotopic constraints on the weathering response to the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum, east coast of North America. Geology, 40, 591–594.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaiho, K., Arinobu, T., Ishiwatari, R., Morgans, H.E.G., Okada, H., Takeda, N., Tazaki, K., Zhou, G., Yoshimichi, K., Matsumoto, R., Hirai, A., Niitsuma, N. & Wada, H. (1996) Latest Paleocene benthic foraminiferal extinction and environmental changes at Tawanui, New Zealand. Paleoceanography, 11, 447–165.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karlsson, W., Vollset, L., Bjurlykke, K. & Jurgensen, P. (1979) Changes in mineralogical composition of Tertiary sediments from North Sea wells. Pp. 281—289 in: Proceedings of the 6th International Clay Conference, Oxford, 1978 (M.M. Mortland & V Farmer, editors). Developments in Sedimentology, 27, Elsevier, Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Kelly, D.C., Zachos, J.C., Bralower, T.J. & Schellenberg, S.A. (2005) Enhanced terrestrial weathering/runoff and surface ocean carbonate production during the recovery stages of the Paleocene—Eocene thermal maximum. Paleoceanography, 20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kender, S., Stephenson, M.H., Riding, J.B., Leng, M.J., Knox, R.W.O'B., Peck, Y.L., Kendrick, C.P., Ellis, M.A., Vane, C.H. & Jamieson, R. (2012) Marine and terrestrial environmental changes in NW Europe preceding carbon release at the Paleocene-Eocene transition. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 353-354, 108–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, C. (2016) A Revised Correlation of Tertiary Rocks in the British Isles and Adjacent Areas of NW Europe (A. S. Gale & T.L. Barry, editors). Special reports, 27. The Geological Society, London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kjennerud, T. & Gillmore, G.K. (2003) Integrated Palaeogene palaeobathymetry of the northern North Sea. Petroleum Geoscience, 9, 125–132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kjennerud, T. & Sylta, S. (2001) Application of quantitative palaeobathymetry in basin modelling. Petroleum Geoscience, 7, 331–341.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knox, R.W.O'B. (1996) Correlation of the early Paleogene in northwest Europe: an overview. Pp. 1–11 in: Correlation of the Early Paleogene in Northwest Europe (R.W. O'B. Knox, R.M. Corfield & R.E. Dunay, editors). Special Publications, 101, Geological Society, London.Google Scholar
Knox, R.W.O'B. (1998) The tectonic and volcanic history of the North Atlantic region during the Paleocene-Eocene transition: Implications for NW European and global biotic events. Pp. 91–102 in: Late Palaeocene-Early Eocene Climatic and Biotic Events in the Marine and Terrestrial Records (M.-P. Aubry, S.G. Lucas & WA. Berggren, editors). Columbia University Press, New York.Google Scholar
Knox, R.W.O'B. & Morton, A.C. (1988) The record of early Tertiary volcanism in sediments of the North Sea Basin. Pp. 407–419 in: Early Tertiary Volcanism and the Opening of the NE Atlantic (A.C Morton & L.M. Parson, editors). Blackwell, Oxford, UK.Google Scholar
Kraus, M.J. & Riggins, S. (2007) Transient drying during the Paleocene—Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM): Analysis of paleosols in the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology andPalaeoecology, 245, 444–461.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lombardi, C.J. (2014) Lithostratigraphy and clay mineralogy of Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum sediments at Wilson Lake, NJ. Unpublished MSc Thesis, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, USA.Google Scholar
Malm, O.A., Bruun Christensen, O., Fumes, H., Lovlie, R., Ruselatten, H. & Lorange Ostby, K. (1984) The Lower Tertiary Balder Formation: An organogenic and tuffaceous deposit in the North Sea region. Pp. 149–170 in: Petroleum Geology of the North European Margin (A.M. Spencer, editor). Norwegian Petroleum Society, Graham & Trotman, London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mclnerney, F.A. & Wing, S.L. (2011) The Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum: a perturbation of carbon cycle, climate, and biosphere with implications for the future. Annual Reviews in Earth and Planetary Science, 39, 489–516.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Merriman, R.J. & Kemp, S.J. (1996) Clay minerals and sedimentary basin maturity. Mineralogical Society Bulletin, 111, 7–8.Google Scholar
Moore, D.M. & Reynolds, R.C. (1997) X-ray Diffraction and the Identification and Analysis of Clay Minerals, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press, New York.Google Scholar
Mudge, D.C. (2015) Regional controls on Lower Tertiary sandstone distribution in the North Sea and NE Atlantic margin basins. Pp. 17—42 in: Tertiary Deep-Marine Reservoirs of the North Sea Region (T. McKie, P.T.S. Rose, A.J. Hartley, D.W. Jones & T.L. Armstrong, editors). Special Publications, 403. Geological Society, London.Google Scholar
Murphy, B.H., Farley, K.A. & Zachos, J.C. (2010) An extraterrestrial He-based timescale for the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM) from Walvis Ridge, IODP Site 1266. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Ada, 74, 5098–5108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nielsen, O.B. (1974) Sedimentation and diagenesis of lower Eocene sediments at 01st, Denmark. Sedimentary Geology, 12, 25–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nielsen, O.B., Rasmussen, E.S. & Thyberg, B.I. (2015) Distribution of clay minerals in the northern North Sea Basin during the Paleogene and Neogene: a result of source-area geology and sorting processes. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 85, 562–581.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olsson, R.K. & Wise, S.W. Jr (1987) Upper Paleocene to middle Eocene depositional sequences and hiatuses in the New Jersey Atlantic Margin. Pp. 99—112 in: Timing and Depositional History of Eustatic Sequences: Constraints on Seismic Stratigraphy (C. Ross & D. Haman, editors). Special Publication of the Cushman Foundation on Foraminiferal Research, 24, Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Pagani, M., Pedentchouk, N., Huber, M., Sluijs, A., Schouten, S., Brinkhuis, H., Sinninghe, D., Jaap, S., Dickens, G.R. & 302 Expedition Scientists (2006) Arctic hydrology during global warming at the Palaeocene/Eocene thermal maximum. Nature, 442, 671–675.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Parry, S.A., Hodson, M.E., Kemp, S.J. & Oelkers, E.H. (2015) The surface area and reactivity of granitic soils: I. Dissolution rates of primary minerals as a function of depth and age deduced from field observations. Geoderma, 237-238, 21–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pearson, M.J. (1990) Clay mineral distribution and provenance in Mesozoic and Tertiary mudrocks of the Moray Firth and Northern North Sea. Clay Minerals, 25, 519–541.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pearson, M.J. & Small, J.S. (1988) Illite-smectite diagenesis and palaeotemperatures in northern North Sea Quaternary to Mesozoic shale sequences. Clay Minerals, 23, 109–132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pollastro, R.M. (1993) Considerations and applications of the illite/smectite geothermometer in hydrocarbon-bearing rocks of Miocene to Mississippian age. Clays and Clay Minerals, 41, 119–133.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ramseyer, K. & Boles, J.R. (1986) Mixed-layer illite-smectite minerals in Tertiary sandstones and shales, san Joaquin Basin, California. Clays and Clay Minerals, 34, 115–124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reynolds, R.C. & Reynolds, R.C. (1996) Description of Newmod-for-Windows™. The Calculation of one-Dimensional X-ray Diffraction Patterns of Mixed Layered Clay Minerals. R.C. Reynolds Jr., 8 Brook Road, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA.Google Scholar
Righi, D. & Meunier, A. (1995) Origin of clays by rock weathering and soil formation. Pp. 43–161 in: Origin and Mineralogy of Clays (B. Velde, editor). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robert, C. & Kennett, J.R. (1994) Antarctic subtropical humid episode at the Paleocene—Eocene boundary — clay mineral evidence. Geology, 22, 211–214.2.3.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rohl, U., Westerhold, T., Bralower, T.J. & Zachos, J.C. (2007) On the duration of the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM). Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, 8, Q12002.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmitz, B. & Pujalte, Y. (2003) Sea-level, humidity, and land-erosion records across the initial Eocene thermal maximum from a continental-marine transect in northern Spain. Geology, 31, 689–692.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmitz, B. & Pujalte, Y. (2007) Abrupt increase in seasonal extreme precipitation at the Paleocene— Eocene boundary. Geology, 35, 215–218.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmitz, B., Pujalte, Y. & Nunez-Betelu, K. (2001) Climate and sea-level perturbations during the initial Eocene thermal maximum: evidence from siliciclastic units in the Basque Basin (Ermua, Zumaia and Trabakua Pass), northern Spain. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology 165, 299–320.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schultz, L.G. (1964) Quantitative interpretation of min-eralogical composition from X-ray and chemical data for the Pierre Shale. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 391-C, 31 pp.Google Scholar
Shepard, F.P. (1954) Nomenclature based on sand-silt-clay ratios. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, 24, 151–158.Google Scholar
Singer, A. (1984) The palaeoclimatic interpretation of clay minerals in sediments - a review. Earth Science Review, 21, 251–293.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sluijs, A., Brinkhuis, H., Schouten, S., Bohaty, S.M., John, C.M., Zachos, J.C., Reichart, G., Sinninghe Damste, J.S., Crouch, E.M. & Dickens, G.R. (2007) Environmental precursors to rapid light carbon injection at the Palaeocene/Eocene boundary. Nature, 450, 1218–1221.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sluijs, A., Brinkhuis, H., Crouch, E.M., John, C.M., Handley, L., Munsterman, D., Bohaty, S.M., Zachos, J.C., Reichart, G., Schouten, S., Pancost, R.D., Sinninghe Damste, J., Welters, N.L.D., Lotter, A.F. & Dickens, G.R. (2008) Eustatic variations during the Palaeocene- Eocene greenhouse world. Paleoceanography, 23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soliman, M., Aubry, M.-P., Schmitz, B. & Sherrell, R.M. (2011) Enhanced coastal productivity and nutrient supply in Upper Egypt (PETM) during the Paleocene/Eocene Thermal Maximum: Mineralogical and geochemical evidence. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 310, 365–377.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thiry, M. (2000) Palaeoclimatic interpretation of clay minerals in marine deposits: an outlook from the continental origin. Earth-Science Reviews, 49, 201–221.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thiry, M. & Jacquin, T. (1993) Clay mineral distribution related to rift activity, sea-level changes and palaeo-oceanography in the Cretaceous of the Atlantic Ocean. Clay Minerals, 28, 61–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tripati, A. & Elderfield, H. (2005) Deep-Sea temperature and circulation changes at the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum. Science, 308, 1894–1898.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tye, A.M., Kemp, S.J. & Poulton, P.R. (2009) Responses of soil clay mineralogy in the Rothamsted classical experiments in relation to management practice and changing land use. Geoderma, 153, 136–146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wentworth, C.K. (1922) A scale of grade and class terms for clastic sediments. The Journal of Geology, 30, 377—392.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
White, A.F. & Brantley, S.L. (1995) Chemical weathering rates of silicate minerals; an overview. Pp. 1-22 in: Chemical Weathering of Silicate Minerals (A.F. White and, S.F.. Brantley, editors). Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, 31, Mineralogical Society of America, Washington, D.C.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, M.J. (1999) The origin and formation of clay minerals in soils: past, present and future perspectives. Clay Minerals, 34, 7–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wing, S.L., Harrington, G.J., Smith, F.A., Bloch, II., Boyer, D.M. & Freeman, K.H. (2005) Transient floral change and rapid global warming at the Paleocene-Eocene boundary. Science, 310, 993–996.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zachos, J.C., Wara, M.W., Bohaty, S., Delaney, M.L., Petrizzo, M.R., Brill, A., Bralower, T.J. & Premoli-Silva, I. (2003) A transient rise in tropical sea surface temperature during the Paleocene—Eocene thermal maximum. Science, 302, 1551–1554.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zacke, A., Voigt, S., Joachimski, M.M., Gale, A.S., Ward, D.J. & Tiitken, T. (2009) Surface-water freshening and high-latitude river discharge in the Eocene North Sea. Journal of the Geological Society, London, 166, 969–980.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zeelmaekers, E., McCarty, D. & Mystkowski, K. (2007) SYBILLA User Manual. Chevron proprietary software, unpublished manual, Houston, Texas, USA, 16 pp.Google Scholar
Zeelmaekers, E., Honty, M., Derkowski, A., Srodon, J., De Craen, M., Vandenberghe, N., Adriaens, R., Ufer, K. & Wouters, L. (2015) Qualitative and quantitative mineralogical composition of the Rupelian Boom Clay in Belgium. Clay Minerals, 50, 249–272.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ziegler, P.A. (1982) Geological Atlas of Western and Central Europe. 130 pp. + folder with 40 maps or charts.: Shell Internationale Petroleum Maatschappij B.Y., The Hague; Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.Google Scholar