Constraints on the onset duration of the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum

The Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, approx. 56 Ma) provides a test case for investigating how the Earth system responds to rapid greenhouse gas-driven warming. However, current rates of carbon emissions are approximately 10 Pg C yr(−1), whereas those proposed for the PETM span orders of magnitude—from ≪1 Pg C yr(−1) to greater than the anthropogenic rate. Emissions rate estimates for the PETM are hampered by uncertainty over the total mass of PETM carbon released as well as the PETM onset duration. Here, I review constraints on the onset duration of the carbon isotope excursion (CIE) that is characteristic of the event with a focus on carbon cycle model-based attempts that forgo the need for a traditional sedimentary age model. I also review and compare existing PETM carbon input scenarios employing the Earth system model cGENIE and suggest another possibility—that abrupt input of an isotopically depleted carbon source combined with elevated volcanic outgassing over a longer interval can together account for key features of the PETM CIE. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Hyperthermals: rapid and extreme global warming in our geological past’.