A magmatic trigger for the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum?

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution June 2015Fifty-six million years ago Earth experienced rapid global warming (~6°C) that was caused by the release of large amounts of carbon into the ocean-atmosphere system. This Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) is often cited as an analogue of anthropogenic climate change. Many trigger mechanisms for the carbon release at the PETM have been proposed. Common to all scenarios is rapid release of isotopically light carbon (