Benthic foraminifera methane

Live benthic foraminifera and their stable isotopic composition at sites of active methane discharge have been studied at the Pacific margins (Rathbum et al. 2000 Bernhard et al. 2001 Rathbum et al. 2003 Torres et al. 2003 Herguera et al. 2004 ... 

Rathburn, A. E., Levin, L. A., Held, Z. Lohmann, K. C. 2000. Benthic foraminifera associated with cold methane seeps on the northern California margin ecology and stable isotopic composition. Marine Micropaleontology, 38, 247-266. 

Rathburn, A. E., Perez, M. E., Martin, J. B., Day, S. A., Mahn, C., Gieskes, j., Ziebis, W., Williams, D. Bahls, a. 2003. Relationships between the distribution and stable isotopic composition of living benthic foraminifera and cold methane seep biogeochemistry in Monterey Bay, California. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 4, 1106, doi 1110.1029/ 2003GC000595. 

One of the best-characterized links between marine and terrestrial paleoclimate concerns the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM). High-resolution marine cores delineated a rapid drop in benthic foraminifera 5 C and 5 0 at 55 Ma. The drop corresponds to a deep-sea temperature rise of 5-6°C in ten thousand years or less (Kennett and Stott 1991, Bralower et al. 1995, Thomas and Shackleton 1996). The cause is now inferred to be catastrophic methane release from clathrates on the continental margins (Dickens et al. 1995, 1997 Dickens 1999). Because methane is a greenhouse gas and has an extremely low value (—60%o), a large release would affect both temperature (oxygen isotopes) and carbon isotopes. 

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