Platform evolution around the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO) in a low latitude setting

始新世期间记录了大量的生物和海洋扰动，然而，它们对碳酸盐台地的影响却没有得到充分的探讨。拟议的项目将有助于了解碳酸盐生产、碳循环的主要变化和全球/当地气候变化之间的相互作用。我们将研究沉积物动态、动物/植物组成、栖息地和碳酸盐分离生物的变化，以过滤出变暖和变冷对环境和生物群的影响。我们将重点关注全球变暖事件，如EECO（早始新世气候最佳），早始新世中期的长期变暖事件或短期变暖事件（超热事件），如Elmo或早始新世的“x事件”。与气候变暖事件和碳酸盐台地生物变化的数据进行比较，例如在PETM期间（古新世/始新世热最大值-古新世/始新世边界的短期变暖事件），将允许定义碳酸盐台地的重要古生物学和沉积学参数，这些参数是由气候扰动引起的，与全球碳循环密切相关。我们将集中研究NGWA（埃及北加拉-瓦迪阿拉巴高地）的各种始新世台地环境和台地斜坡环境，这些环境与盆地环境有关，从而使台地事件与海洋事件相互关联。碳酸盐台地，如NGWA，反映了典型的热带碳酸盐工厂的末端成员，这个术语描述了碳酸盐沉淀的地点和过程。与远洋系统相比，碳酸盐台地在气候和海洋耦合过程中的贡献是相当未知的；这同样适用于古近系台地。此外，特别是碳酸盐岩生产商的作用只是初步了解。我们将使用不同的方法和代理，包括以下方法：实地和实验室分析的定量相分析，地层模拟，古生物学分析：珊瑚，大型有孔虫，钙质藻类；地球化学变化（δ13C）的测定和碳酸盐分离生物钙化率的计算，以解释海洋和气候敏感信号。将传统的野外地质方法（1D剖面和若干2D大比例尺图）与定量地质填图相结合，将有助于更好地了解水平和垂直方向的相比例和分布，并在集成的3D地理参考框架内重建平台的构造和地层结构，包括应用2D （PHIL）和3D （DIONISOS）地层正演模拟。所有数据的整合将有助于解释EECO期间平台上的小规模沉积过程，从而更好地了解气候强迫对碳酸盐工厂的影响。

During the Eocene a large number of biotic and oceanic perturbations are recorded that, however, are underexplored with respect to their repercussions on carbonate platforms. The proposed project will contribute to understand the interaction between carbonate production, major changes in carbon cycles and global/local climate changes. We will study the sediment dynamics, the faunal/floral composition, habitats, and changes of carbonate-segregating organisms, to filter out the effects of warming and cooling on the environment and the biota. We will focus on global warming events, like the EECO (Early Eocene Climate Optimum), a long-term warming episode during Early-Middle Eocene or short-term warming events (hyperthermals) like the Elmo or the “x-event” in the Early Eocene. Comparisons with data from warming events and biotic changes on carbonate platforms, e.g. during the PETM (Paleocene/Eocene Thermal Maximum - a short-term warming episode at the Paleocene/Eocene boundary) will allow to define the important paleontologic and sedimentologic parameters of carbonate platforms that are due to climatic perturbations, closely linked to the global carbon cycle. We will concentrate on the various Eocene platform environments and platform-slope settings of the NGWA (North Galala-Wadi Araba High, Egypt) that are linked with basinal settings and thus allow the correlation of platform events with oceanic events. Carbonate platforms, such as the NGWA, reflect the typical end-members of a tropical carbonate factory, a term that describes both the places and processes of carbonate precipitation. In comparison to pelagic systems, the contribution of carbonate platforms within coupled climatic and oceanographic processes is rather unknown; the same applies to the Paleogene platforms. Moreover, the role of the carbonate producers, in particular, is only known rudimentarily. We will use different methods and proxies, including the following approaches: Quantitative facies analysis in the field and in laboratory analyses, stratigraphic modelling, paleontolo-gic analyses on: corals, larger foraminifera, calcareous algae; determination of geochemical variations (δ13C) and calculations of calcification rates of carbonate-segregating organisms to interprete oceano-graphic and climate-sensitive signals. Integrating traditional field geology methods (1D sections and several 2D large-scale maps) with quantitative geological mapping will help to better understand facies proportions and distributions in both horizontal and vertical orientation and to reconstruct the structural and stratigraphic architecture of the platform within an integrated 3D georeferenced framework, including the application of 2D (PHIL) and 3D (DIONISOS) stratigraphic forward modelling. The integration of all data will allow the interprettation of small-scale sedimentary processes on platforms during the EECO to better understand the impact of climatic forcing on carbonate factories.