MacLeod, Kenneth G., Huber, Brian T., Berrocoso, Álvaro Jiménez, and Wendler, Ines. 2013. "A stable and hot Turonian without glacial d18O excursions is indicated by exquisitely preserved Tanzanian foraminifera." Geology, 41, (10) 1083–1086. https://doi.org/10.1130/G34510.1.
A shift from the icehouse climate in which humans evolved to a Late Cretaceous–like greenhouse climate is an often-repeated cautionary prediction of the consequences of continued anthropogenic CO2 emissions. The corollary, that understanding the past might help predict the future, has justified many Late Cretaceous studies, but important questions remain about climate stability and sensitivity. New d18O measurements of more than 1000 samples of exceptionally well preserved foraminifera (8 planktic and 11 benthic taxa) from two sites in Tanzania indicate that hot and remarkably stable conditions prevailed in the region during the Turonian, including during a proposed greenhouse glacial event. Planktic taxa have d18O values largely between -4.0‰ and -5.0‰, suggesting surface-water temperatures between 30 and 35 °C. Estimates for seafloor temperatures are between 18 and 25 °C. No parallel shifts in d18O values are observed among planktic and benthic taxa, contradicting an often-cited line of evidence for greenhouse glaciations and supporting an effectively ice-free Turonian world.
