Quick Search:    advanced search

GSW Home   GeoRef Home   My GSW Alerts   Contact GSW   About GSW   Journals List   Help

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Ufnar, D.F. Articles by Witzke, B.J. Search for Related Content GeoRef GeoRef Citation

Evidence for increased latent heat transport during the Cretaceous (Albian) greenhouse warming

¹ Department of Geology, University of Southern Mississippi, Box 5044, Hattiesburg, Mississippi 39406, USA
² Department of Geology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045-7613, USA
³ Iowa Geological Survey Bureau, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, USA
⁴ Department of Geoscience, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1379, USA
⁵ Iowa Geological Survey Bureau, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, USA

Quantitative estimates of increased heat transfer by atmospheric H₂O vapor during the Albian greenhouse warming suggest that the intensified hydrologic cycle played a greater role in warming high latitudes than at present and thus represents a viable alternative to oceanic heat transport. Sphaerosiderite ¹⁸O values in paleosols of the North American Cretaceous Western Interior Basin are a proxy for meteoric ¹⁸O values, and mass- balance modeling results suggest that Albian precipitation rates exceeded modern rates at both mid and high latitudes. Comparison of modeled Albian and modern precipitation minus evaporation values suggests amplification of the Albian moisture deficit in the tropics and moisture surplus in the mid to high latitudes. The tropical moisture deficit represents an average heat loss of 75 W/m² at 10°N paleolatitude (at present, 21 W/m²). The increased precipitation at higher latitudes implies an average heat gain of 83 W/ m² at 45°N (at present, 23 W/m²) and of 19 W/m² at 75°N (at present, 4 W/m²). These estimates of increased poleward heat transfer by H₂O vapor during the Albian may help to explain the reduced equator-to-pole temperature gradients.

Key Words: latent heat • sphaerosiderites • oxygen isotopes • paleoclimatology • Cretaceous

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. B. Suarez, L. A. Gonzalez, G. A. Ludvigson, F. J. Vega, and J. Alvarado-Ortega Isotopic composition of low-latitude paleoprecipitation during the Early Cretaceous Geological Society of America Bulletin, November 1, 2009; 121(11-12): 1584 - 1595. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. C. McElwain, M. E. Popa, S. P. Hesselbo, M. Haworth, and F. Surlyk Macroecological responses of terrestrial vegetation to climatic and atmospheric change across the Triassic/Jurassic boundary in East Greenland Paleobiology, December 1, 2007; 33(4): 547 - 573. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. J. Poulsen, D. Pollard, and T. S. White General circulation model simulation of the {delta}18O content of continental precipitation in the middle Cretaceous: A model-proxy comparison Geology, March 1, 2007; 35(3): 199 - 202. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. J. HARRIES and K. M. SCHOPF LATE CRETACEOUS GASTROPOD DRILLING INTENSITIES: DATA FROM THE MAASTRICHTIAN FOX HILLS FORMATION, WESTERN INTERIOR SEAWAY, USA Palaios, January 1, 2007; 22(1): 35 - 46. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]