| dc.description.abstract | The Paleogene (66–23 Ma) was characterised by warming and cooling trends, on the scales of tens-of-thousands to millions of years, ultimately driven by tectonic processes (e.g., Zachos et al., 2001; Westerhold et al., 2020). Shorter period variability occurs due to changes in the Earth’s orbital configuration, known as Milankovitch cyclicity, driving changes in the climate and carbon cycle. This high frequency variability is well-known from increasingly detailed sedimentological and geochemical records primarily from deep sea sedimentary archives; however, there are relatively fewer records from shallow and intermediate water depths or low latitude areas. In addition to these quasi-periodic Milankovitch cycles a number of significant global climate perturbations are recorded in the Paleogene rock record including the well known Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum (PETM; ~56 Ma), where global sea surface temperatures are thought to have increased by ~3–4°C (e.g., McInerney & Wing, 2011). Low latitude areas, such as the Middle East and Arabian Sea, are thus far relatively understudied in terms of their combined palaeoenvironmental and biostratigraphic records through the Paleogene. As such, further high-resolution records from low latitude, shallow water and intermediate depth sites are important to discern orbital-scale variability and constrain how these regions responded to geologically rapid climate changes. This project applies a number of varied geochemical, sedimentological, and palaeontological techniques to material from both onshore shelf sea settings (Jordan and the United Arab Emirates) and open ocean (Arabian Sea) sediment cores. The overarching aim of the project is to analyse the changes in palaeoenvironment, palaeoclimate, and palaeoecology in low latitude, tropical environments of the Middle East and Arabian Sea through the Paleogene. The PETM is shown to have a limited impact on the oceanography and biota of this area, with the long-term warming from the late Paleocene to early Eocene instead causing shifts in biodiversity and influences of specific water masses. Similarly, the Oligocene–Miocene transition is shown to have an important role in the long-term evolution of the Arabian Sea region and proto-South Asian monsoon system. | en_GB |
