How Hot was the Oligocene?

Asked by: Ana Gonzalez

Oligocene GMSTs were ∼22 to 24 °C (Fig. 3A), thus not significantly different from those of the late Eocene, 23 °C, and >8 °C higher than modern rather than ∼5 °C (e.g., refs. 42, 69).

What was the climate like in the Oligocene?

During the Oligocene, Eurasian mid-high latitudes were mainly dominated by a humid subtropical climate. Mean annual temperature (MAT) ranged between 5.4 °C and 25.5 °C with mean annual precipitation (MAP) ranging from 338 to 2453 mm.

What did the Earth look like during the Oligocene epoch?

Oligocene Epoch (33.9 – 23 MYA)



Open plains and deserts became more common and grasslands began to spread. A vast inland sea that had once separated Europe and Asia dried up and increased ease of movement of animals meant that the faunas of the two continents became very similar.

What caused Oligocene cooling?

Falling atmospheric CO₂ levels led to cooling through the Eocene and the expansion of Antarctic ice sheets close to their modern size near the beginning of the Oligocene, a period of poorly documented climate.

How hot was the Earth 50 million years ago?

(Credit: Washington State Univ.) Accordingly, between 57 and 55 million years ago, the mean annual air temperature at the equator where Colombia lies today was around 41 °C (105.8 F). In Arctic Siberia, the average summer temperature was 23 °C (73.4 F).

How long did the Oligocene last?

The Oligocene Epoch, right smack in the middle of the Tertiary Period (and end of the Paleogene), lasted from about 33.9 to 23 million years ago. * Although it lasted a “short” 11 million years, a number of major changes occurred during this time.

What happened from the Eocene to the Oligocene?

The Eocene–Oligocene transition (EOT) was a climate shift from a largely ice-free greenhouse world to an icehouse climate, involving the first major glaciation of Antarctica and global cooling occurring ∼34 million years ago (Ma) and lasting ∼790 kyr.

What was the trigger for climate change Eocene Oligocene boundary?

The first isolation occurred near the Eocene–Oligocene boundary (33.9 My) and may have been triggered by the global sea-level fall associated with the onset of the Antarctic ice sheets.

What happened in the Paleocene era?

Paleocene Epoch (65.5 – 55.8 MYA)



The Paleocene epoch immediately followed the extinction of the dinosaurs. The Earth’s climate was warmer than today, but cooler and drier than the epochs immediately preceding and following it. Europe and North America were connected, as were Asia and North America at times.

What are the 10 warmest years on record?

In fact, 2016 was the hottest year ever recorded. In April 2020, the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) was predicting that 2020 had a 75% chance of beating that record (Source).



The Ten Hottest Years on Record

• 2015.
• 2017.
• 2018.
• 2014.
• 2010.
• 2013.
• 2005.
• 2009.

What was the hottest period in human history?

One of the warmest times was during the geologic period known as the Neoproterozoic, between 600 and 800 million years ago. Conditions were also frequently sweltering between 500 million and 250 million years ago.

What is the warmest the Earth has ever been?

The current official highest registered air temperature on Earth is 56.7 °C (134.1 °F), recorded on 10 July 1913 at Furnace Creek Ranch, in Death Valley in the United States.

How much warmer was the Pliocene?

The Mid-Pliocene is the most recent period with atmospheric CO₂ comparable with the present (ca. 400 ppmv) (24), with mean annual surface temperatures approximately 1.8 °C to 3.6 °C warmer than preindustrial temperatures, reduced ice sheet extents, and increased sea levels (25).

What is the Oligocene period?

Oligocene Epoch, third and last major worldwide division of the Paleogene Period (65.5 million to 23 million years ago), spanning the interval between 33.9 million to 23 million years ago. The Oligocene Epoch is subdivided into two ages and their corresponding rock stages: the Rupelian and the Chattian.