The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum was a period of rapid global warming that began at the boundary between the Paleocene and Eocene epochs, about 56 million years ago, and lasted around 200,000 years. Global average temperatures rose an estimated 5 to 8 degrees Celsius, driven by a massive release of carbon into the ocean and atmosphere whose exact source is still debated, with volcanic activity, methane clathrate release and kimberlite eruptions all proposed as contributing causes. The event is widely treated as the best available past analogue for understanding how rapid carbon release and the carbon cycle interact with a warming world, making it a key reference point for interpreting modern climate change.
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Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (Wikipedia)
In Discipline: Paleoclimatology, Lead paragraph
The Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM), alternatively Eocene thermal maximum 1 (ETM1) and formerly known as the Initial Eocene or Late Paleocene thermal maximum, was a geologically brief time interval characterized by a 5-8 °C (9-14 °F) global average temperature rise and massive input of carbon into the ocean and atmosphere.
In Group: Deep-Time Climate Events, Lead sentence
The Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM), alternatively Eocene thermal maximum 1 (ETM1) and formerly known as the Initial Eocene or Late Paleocene thermal maximum, was a geologically brief time interval characterized by a 5-8 °C (9-14 °F) global average temperature rise and massive input of carbon into the ocean
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