Eocene

The Eocene epoch (56-34 mya) is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Palaeogene period in the Cenozoic era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Paleocene epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene epoch. The start of the Eocene is marked by the emergence of the first modern mammals. The end is set at a major extinction event that may be related to the impact of one or more large bolides in Siberia and in what is now Chesapeake Bay. Still, as with other other geologic periods, the strata that define the start and end of the epoch are well identified, but their exact dates are slightly uncertain.

Eocene climate

Marking the start of the Eocene, the planet heated up in one of the most rapid (in geologic terms) and extreme global warming events recorded in geologic history, called the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum or Initial Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM or IETM). This was an episode of rapid and intense warming (up to 7°C at high latitudes) that lasted less than 100,000 years http://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/intro/schmidt_02/. The Thermal Maximum provoked a sharp extinction event that distinguishes Eocene fauna from the ecosystems of the Paleocene.

Related Topics:
Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum - Fauna - Paleocene

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Climates remained warm through the rest of the Eocene, although slow global cooling, which eventually led to the Pleistocene glaciations, started around the end of epoch as ocean currents around Antarctica cooled.

Related Topics:
Climate - Pleistocene - Glaciation - Antarctica

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