A number of short warming events occurred during Paleocene and Eocene, of which the “Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum” (PETM, 56 Ma) is the most severe and most investigated event. The less known “Latest Danian Event” (LDE) at 62.2 Ma represents a 200 ky-lasting warming phase, superimposed on a long-term cooling trend after the Early Paleocene. South Atlantic ODP Site 1262 data, covering ~1 myr, indicate a warming of the entire water column by 1.5–2.6 °C, accompanying a prominent negative carbon isotope excursion (~0.9–1.1‰) and a long-term re-organization of the planktic foraminiferal fauna associated with the LDE. This study unravels a different paleoceanographic evolution of the upper ocean structure compared to results from Pacific ODP Site 1210. Unlike the Pacific, the Atlantic site lacks an apparent change of stratification as well as an overall dominance of thermocline dwelling planktic foraminifera species and a low abundance of surface dwelling photosymbiotic foraminifera. Within the LDE, indications for a slightly enhanced stratification of the upper water column and transient warming were indicated when surface dwelling planktic foraminifera became temporarily more abundant. The long-term evolution in planktic foraminifera with the disappearance of Praemurica at the LDE onset and a contemporaneous rise in Morozovella is similar to the trends reported from Shatsky Rise ODP Site 1210.
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