Antarctic ice sheet sensitivity to atmospheric CO2 variations in the early to mid-Miocene

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Richard LevySMS Science Team

Abstract

Geological records from the Antarctic margin offer direct evidence of environmental variability at high southern latitudes and provide insight regarding ice sheet sensitivity to past climate change. The early to mid-Miocene (23-14 Mya) is a compelling interval to study as global temperatures and atmospheric CO2 concentrations were similar to those projected for coming centuries. Importantly, this time interval includes the Miocene Climatic Optimum, a period of global warmth during which average surface temperatures were 3-4 °C higher than today. Miocene sediments in the ANDRILL-2A drill core from the Western Ross Sea, Antarctica, indicate that the Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) was highly variable through this key time interval. A multiproxy dataset derived from the core identifies four distinct environmental motifs based on changes in sedimentary facies, fossil assemblages, geochemistry, and paleotemperature. Four major disconformities in the drill core coincide with regional seismic discontinuities and reflect transient expansion of grounded ice across the Ross Sea. They correlate with major positive shifts in benthic oxygen isotope records and generally coincide with intervals when atmospheric CO2 concentrations were at or below ...Continue Reading

References

Jan 5, 2008·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Wolfram M KürschnerDavid L Dilcher
Aug 6, 2008·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Adam R LewisAlexander P Wolfe
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Feb 24, 2016·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Edward GassonRichard H Levy

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Citations

Feb 24, 2016·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Edward GassonRichard H Levy
Mar 19, 2016·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Amelia E Shevenell
Jun 9, 2016·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·James S CramptonTim R Naish
Jan 24, 2018·Nature Communications·Francesca SangiorgiHenk Brinkhuis
Mar 30, 2017·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Diederik LiebrandLucas J Lourens
Dec 2, 2020·The Science of the Total Environment·Rhian L Rees-OwenAlina D Marca
Dec 17, 2021·Nature·J W MarschalekUNKNOWN IODP Expedition 374

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