Hydrological upheaval across multiple early Eocene hyperthermal events in the north African arid zone

Rapid climatic and carbon cycle upheavals in the early Eocene have been of strong interest for the past decades. Multiple of these events represent global warming events (i.e. hyperthermals), including the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM; 56 Ma), but global data coverage is still too limited to fully resolve the spatial patterns of climate, ecosystems and hydrology for the other hyperthermals. This is particularly due to the lack of continuous continental margin sequences suitable for high-resolution paleoclimate reconstructions.

We present high-resolution, multi-proxy records of climatic and environmental changes across multiple hyperthermals from Core RH-323, Northern Negev Desert, Israel. Lower Eocene sediments, dominantly orbitally paced alternations of marls and chalk, were deposited in the Tethys Ocean at a latitude of ~15º N, on the northward dipping slope of the presumably dry northern bound of the African continent. They provide a unique opportunity to capture tropical climate variability and continental-hydrological response to hyperthermals. We reconstruct regional variability of (sub)surface temperature, plankton ecology and continental hydrology by TEX₈₆ paleothermometry, bulk carbonate isotope ratios, magnetic susceptibility, bulk-XRF and dinoflagellate cyst (dinocyst) assemblages.

We identify various hyperthermal events, including the PETM, ETM2 and ETM3, based on combined chemo- and biostratigraphy. During the PETM, TEX₈₆-based temperatures indicate a warming of 3­–4 ºC, coinciding with a high abundance of representatives of the classic warm water dinocyst genus Apectodinium. The PETM is marked by a thin marl-rich interval at the onset, followed by a carbonate-rich interval during the body, suggesting very different hydrological forcing of siliciclastic input than recorded at mid-latitude sites. We interpret this to reflect strong seasonality (possibly monsoon like) with periods of intense precipitation followed by prolonged drought. Interestingly, subsequent smaller hyperthermals seem to predominantly coincide with increased siliciclastic content, thus representing episodes of increased (seasonal) precipitation.