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Mid-Eocene sea surface cooling in the easternmost proto-Paratethys sea: constraints from quantitative temperatures in halite fluid inclusions

International Journal of Earth Sciences volume 110, pages 1713–1727 (2021)Cite this article

Abstract

The temperature fluctuations in the Eocene climate are one of the most mysterious phenomena in Cenozoic climate dynamics, and they severely affected the marine and terrestrial biospheres. However, quantitative and comprehensive temperature reconstructions for middle Eocene climatic variations remain limited due to fragmentary paleotemperature records, especially in the easternmost proto-Paratethys sea (Kuqa Depression), where traditional paleoclimatic proxies are restricted by the occurrence of extensive and thick evaporite deposits. In this study, we reconstruct middle Eocene sea surface temperatures (SST) and even air temperatures in the Kuqa Depression based on 584 homogenization temperatures (Th) for fluid inclusions in cumulate and chevron halite crystals from cores DW1 and KL4. The Th values from core DW1 have ranges of 10.5–45.7 °C, the Th values from core KL4 have ranges of 12.6–35.2 °C. The measured Th values are mainly concentrated within 20–30 °C, and an average Th value of 25.6 °Crepresents the SST and is consistent with previous coeval research results. The highest recorded Th is 45.7 °C, clearly representing local hot climate conditions. The average and maximum SST in the middle Eocene Kuqa Depression are cooled by 5.2–11.3 °C and 6.5–14.1 °C, respectively. The cooling trend in the Kuqa Depression occurred in response to global and Tethyan realm cooling in the middle Eocene, but the cooling amplitude in the study area was greater than that of the global climate. The Th data for primary halite fluid inclusions can effectively and quantitatively track past environmental and climatic variations, especially in evaporitic basins where traditional paleoclimatic proxies are often not available.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Basic Research Project for the Central Public Welfare Scientific Institutions (No. YYWF201716) granted by the Institute of Mineral Resources Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences; National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41902064); Scientific Research Foundation for PhD, East China University of Technology (No. DHBK2018029) and Independent Fund from State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Resources and Environment (No. 2020Z11). We especially thank the Editor-in-Chief and anonymous reviewers for constructive comments and suggestions that have greatly improved the quality of this manuscript.

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  1. State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Resources and Environment, East China University of Technology, Nanchang, 330013, China

    Yang Xu

  2. MLR Key Laboratory of Metallogeny and Mineral Assessment, Institute of Mineral Resources, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, 100037, China

    Yangtong Cao & Chenglin Liu

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  1. Yang Xu
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  2. Yangtong Cao
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  3. Chenglin Liu
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Correspondence to Yang Xu or Yangtong Cao.

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Xu, Y., Cao, Y. & Liu, C. Mid-Eocene sea surface cooling in the easternmost proto-Paratethys sea: constraints from quantitative temperatures in halite fluid inclusions. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 110, 1713–1727 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-021-02037-5

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Keywords

  • Paleotemperature cooling
  • Halite fluid inclusions
  • Quantitative reconstructions
  • Middle Eocene
  • Proto-Paratethys Sea