A selective approach to draw data from altered foraminifera shells
A sudden surge in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air and the ocean 56 million years ago may have triggered the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM), a period of rapid and dramatic warming. In conjunction with the rising atmospheric temperature, ocean acidification significantly increased the dissolution, or "burndown," of carbonate sediments on the seafloor, destroying the preservation quality of seafloor foraminifera shells. Analyzing foraminifera shells is one of the main proxy measurements used by paleoclimatologists to reconstruct past ocean temperatures. Kozdon et al., however, find that by using two highly precise analytical techniques, they can draw useful data from foraminifera samples that were damaged by the burndown.