Articles | Volume 14, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1391-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1391-2018
Research article
 | 
04 Oct 2018
Research article |  | 04 Oct 2018

Temperature seasonality in the North American continental interior during the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum

Ethan G. Hyland, Katharine W. Huntington, Nathan D. Sheldon, and Tammo Reichgelt

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Cited articles

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Brand, W. A., Assonov, S. S., and Coplen, T. B.: Correction for the 17O interference in δ13C measurements when analyzing CO2 with stable isotope mass spectrometry, Pure Appl. Chem., 82, 1719–1733, 2010.
Breecker, D. O., Sharp, Z. D., and McFadden, L. D.: Seasonal bias in the formation and stable isotopic composition of pedogenic carbonate in modern soils from central New Mexico, USA, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 121, 630–640, 2009.
Burgener, L., Huntington, K., Hoke, G., Schauer, A., Ringham, M., Latorre, C., and Diaz, F.: Variations in soil carbonate formation and seasonal bias over  > 4 km of relief in the western Andes (30° S) revealed by clumped isotope thermometry, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 441, 188–199, 2016.
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Short summary
Climate equability is a paradox in paleoclimate research, but modeling suggests that strong seasonality should be a feature of greenhouse Earth periods too. Records of temperature from floral assemblages, paleosol geochemistry, clumped isotope thermometry, and downscaled models during the early Eocene show that the mean annual range of temperature was high, and may have increased during warming events. This has implications for predicting future seasonal climate impacts in continental regions.