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The Eocene–Oligocene extinction event, also called the Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT) or Grande Coupure (French for "great cut"), is the transition between the end of the Eocene and the beginning of the Oligocene, an extinction event and faunal turnover occurring between 33.9 and 33.4 million years ago. [1]
The Drake Passage opened 33.9 million years ago (the Eocene-Oligocene transition), severing Antarctica from South America. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current could then flow through it, isolating Antarctica from warm waters and triggering the formation of its huge ice sheets.
The Eocene-Oligocene Boundary 33.9 million years ago was the transition from the last greenhouse period to the present icehouse climate. [17] [18] [10] At this point, when ~25% more of Antarctica's surface was above sea level and able to support land-based ice sheets relative to today, [19] CO 2 levels had dropped to 750 ppm. [20]
Following the maximum was a descent into an icehouse climate from the Eocene Optimum to the Eocene–Oligocene transition at 34 Ma. During this decrease, ice began to reappear at the poles, and the Eocene–Oligocene transition is the period of time when the Antarctic ice sheet began to rapidly expand. [52]
The Oligocene is preceded by the Eocene Epoch and is followed by the Miocene Epoch. The Oligocene is the third and final epoch of the Paleogene Period. The Oligocene is often considered an important time of transition, a link between the archaic world of the tropical Eocene and the more modern ecosystems of the Miocene. [9]
It is generally accepted to have occurred during the Eocene-Oligocene climate transition (33.9 Ma onwards). [46] The onset mechanism has long been debated and remained poorly understood. On one hand, it is believed that the uplift of the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau is the major trigger of South Asian monsoon onset, since only such elevated ...
The late Eocene Epoch saw the rebirth of seasons, which caused the expansion of savanna-like areas with the earliest substantial grasslands. [57] [58] At the transition between the Eocene and Oligocene epochs there was a significant extinction event, the cause of which is debated. The Oligocene Epoch spans from 34 million to 23 million years ago.
The Priabonian is, in the ICS's geologic timescale, the latest age or the upper stage of the Eocene Epoch or Series. It spans the time between 37.71 and 33.9 Ma . The Priabonian is preceded by the Bartonian and is followed by the Rupelian , the lowest stage of the Oligocene .