Accumulation rates, carbon composition and Eocene carbonate compensation depths of ODP Sites 199-1218 and 199-1219

These data delineate a series of CaCO3 events that first appeared at ~48 Ma and continued to the Eocene/Oligocene boundary. Each event lasted 1-2 m.y. and is separated from the next by a low CaCO3 interval of a similar time span.

The largest of these carbonate accumulation events (CAE-3) is in Magnetochron 18. It began at ~42.2 Ma, lasted until ~40.3 Ma, and was marked by higher than average productivity. The end of CAE-3 was abrupt and was associated with a large-scale carbon transfer to the oceans prior to warming of high-latitude regions.