Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Grain Size Variability Spanning The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum In Laramide Basins: Reconstructing Paleoslopes And Overbank Erodibility, Delaney Todd

WWU Graduate School Collection

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) is an extensively studied global warming event occurring approximately 56 Ma and lasting around 200 kyr. Marked by a negative ¹³C excursion from a massive influx of CO₂ to the atmosphere, the PETM caused environmental alterations including increases in global temperature, changes in hydrology and ocean chemistry, and floral and faunal overturns. Evidence of these alterations during the PETM is found within both marine and continental basins. During the early Paleogene, the Laramide Orogeny formed a series of nonmarine basins within the Western Interior of the United States. Three of these basins, the …