Key Points
This global sediment gap offers new insights into Earth's response to dramatic climate changes...
The research, published in Earth-Science Reviews, reveals a widespread absence of sediment deposits dating back to a major climate transition 34 million years ago, known as the Eocene-Oligocene boundary...
Conventional models predicted that the cooling climate and dramatic sea-level drop during this period should have resulted in extensive continental erosion, depositing vast amounts of sediment onto the ocean floor..
Despite the magnitude of this change, the study found a consistent absence of sedimentary deposits across all seven continents' margins.. Burton and his team propose several theories to explain this phenomenon..
While the Eocene-Oligocene transition occurred over a much longer timescale than today's rapid climate change, the study's findings highlight the potential for significant and unexpected global consequences...
