PhD: Life and Environment During Rapid Climatic Warming 56 Million Years Ago: A Geological Analogue for the Future

One of the most extreme global warming events in the geologic past took place at the boundary between the Palaeocene and Eocene. This Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) occurred ~ 56 million years ago and is considered to be one of the closest analogues for investigating possible effects of anthropogenically released carbon on the Earth system. Several possible carbon sources have been proposed for this event, however, there is a lack of studies integrating geochemical and biological data to explore the link between climate perturbations and palaeoecological changes during the PETM. Having this type of information would allow for a better understanding of the role of increasing temperatures on terrestrial and marine biota during future climate change.