Global δ¹³C changes across the Paleocene-Eocene boundary: criteria for terrestrial-marine correlations

Here the authors present a detailed marine carbon isotopic stratigraphy across the Paleocene-Eocene boundary that is constrained by calcareous nannofossil and planktonic foraminifera biostratigraphy and magnetostratigraphy. They show that several distinct carbon isotopic changes are recorded in uppermost Paleocene and lowermost Eocene marine biogenic carbonate sediments. At least one of these changes was transmitted to terrestrial carbon reservoirs, including plant biomass via atmospheric CO₂. This means it is possible to correlate non-fossiliferous terrestrial sediments of the Paris Basin with marine sequences. -from Authors