HIGH-RESOLUTION RECORDS OF THE LATE PALEOCENE THERMAL MAXIMUM AND CIRCUM-CARIBBEAN VOLCANISM - IS THERE A CAUSAL LINK

Two recently drilled Caribbean Sites contain expanded sedimentary reco rds of the late Paleocene thermal maximum, a dramatic global warming e vent that occurred at ca. 55 Ma. The records document significant envi ronmental changes, including deep-water oxygen deficiency and a mass e xtinction of deep-sea fauna, intertwined with evidence for a major epi sode of explosive volcanism. We postulate that this volcanism initiate d a reordering of ocean circulation that resulted in rabid global warm ing and dramatic changes in the Earth's environment.