Isotopic interrogation of a suspected late Eocene glaciation

Ephemeral polar glaciations during the middle-to-late Eocene (48-34 Ma) have been proposed based on far-field ice volume proxy records and near-field glacigenic sediments, although the scale, timing, and duration of these events are poorly constrained. Here we confirm the existence of a transient cool event within a new high-resolution benthic foraminiferal delta O-18 record at Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 738 (Kerguelen Plateau; Southern Ocean). This event, named the Priabonian oxygen isotope maximum (PrOM) Event, lasted similar to 140 kyr and is tentatively placed within magnetochron C17n.1n (similar to 37.3Ma) based on the correlation to ODP Site 689 (Maud Rise, Southern Ocean). A contemporaneous change in the provenance of sediments delivered to the Kerguelen Plateau occurs at the study site, determined from the <63 mu m fraction of decarbonated and reductively leached sediment samples. Changes in the mixture of bottom waters, based on fossil fish tooth epsilon(Nd), were less pronounced and slower relative to the benthic delta O-18 and terrigenous epsilon(Nd) changes. Terrigenous sediment epsilon(Nd) values rapidly shifted to less radiogenic signatures at the onset of the PrOM Event, indicating an abrupt change in provenance favoring ancient sources such as the Paleoproterozoic East Antarctic craton. Bottom water epsilon(Nd) reached a minimum value during the PrOM Event, although the shift begins much earlier than the terrigenous epsilon(Nd) excursion. The origin of the abrupt change in terrigenous sediment provenance is compatible with a change in Antarctic terrigenous sediment flux and/or source as opposed to a reorganization of ocean currents. A change in terrigenous flux and/or source of Antarctic sediments during the oxygen isotope maximum suggests a combination of cooling and ice growth in East Antarctica during the early late Eocene.