Two recently drilled Caribbean sites contain expanded sedimentary records of the late Paleocene thermal maximum, a dramatic global warming event that occurred at ca. 55 Ma. The records document significant environmental changes, including deep-water oxygen deficiency and a mass extinction of deep-sea fauna, intertwined with evidence for a major episode of explosive volcanism. We postulate that this volcanism initiated a reordering of ocean circulation that resulted in rapid global warming and dramatic changes in the Earth's environment.

Supplement to: Bralower, Timothy J; Thomas, Deborah J; Zachos, James C; Hirschmann, M M; Röhl, Ursula; Sigurdsson, Haraldur; Thomas, E; Whitney, Donna L (1997): High-resolution records of the late Paleocene thermal maximum and circum-Caribbean volcanism: Is there a causal link? Geology, 25(11), 963-966