Antarctic role in Northern Hemisphere glaciation
Earth’s climate underwent a major transition from the warmth of the late Pliocene, when global surface temperatures were ~2° to 3°C higher than today, to extensive Northern Hemisphere glaciation (NHG) ~2.73 million years ago (Ma). We show that North Pacific deep waters were substantially colder (4°C...
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American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
2014
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1255586 https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.1255586 |
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craaas:10.1126/science.1255586 2024-06-23T07:47:06+00:00 Antarctic role in Northern Hemisphere glaciation Woodard, Stella C. Rosenthal, Yair Miller, Kenneth G. Wright, James D. Chiu, Beverly K. Lawrence, Kira T. 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1255586 https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.1255586 en eng American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science volume 346, issue 6211, page 847-851 ISSN 0036-8075 1095-9203 journal-article 2014 craaas https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1255586 2024-06-13T04:01:45Z Earth’s climate underwent a major transition from the warmth of the late Pliocene, when global surface temperatures were ~2° to 3°C higher than today, to extensive Northern Hemisphere glaciation (NHG) ~2.73 million years ago (Ma). We show that North Pacific deep waters were substantially colder (4°C) and probably fresher than the North Atlantic Deep Water before the intensification of NHG. At ~2.73 Ma, the Atlantic-Pacific temperature gradient was reduced to <1°C, suggesting the initiation of stronger heat transfer from the North Atlantic to the deep Pacific. We posit that increased glaciation of Antarctica, deduced from the 21 ± 10–meter sea-level fall from 3.15 to 2.75 Ma, and the development of a strong polar halocline fundamentally altered deep ocean circulation, which enhanced interhemispheric heat and salt transport, thereby contributing to NHG. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica North Atlantic Deep Water North Atlantic AAAS Resource Center (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Antarctic Pacific Science 346 6211 847 851 |
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AAAS Resource Center (American Association for the Advancement of Science) |
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craaas |
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English |
description |
Earth’s climate underwent a major transition from the warmth of the late Pliocene, when global surface temperatures were ~2° to 3°C higher than today, to extensive Northern Hemisphere glaciation (NHG) ~2.73 million years ago (Ma). We show that North Pacific deep waters were substantially colder (4°C) and probably fresher than the North Atlantic Deep Water before the intensification of NHG. At ~2.73 Ma, the Atlantic-Pacific temperature gradient was reduced to <1°C, suggesting the initiation of stronger heat transfer from the North Atlantic to the deep Pacific. We posit that increased glaciation of Antarctica, deduced from the 21 ± 10–meter sea-level fall from 3.15 to 2.75 Ma, and the development of a strong polar halocline fundamentally altered deep ocean circulation, which enhanced interhemispheric heat and salt transport, thereby contributing to NHG. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Woodard, Stella C. Rosenthal, Yair Miller, Kenneth G. Wright, James D. Chiu, Beverly K. Lawrence, Kira T. |
spellingShingle |
Woodard, Stella C. Rosenthal, Yair Miller, Kenneth G. Wright, James D. Chiu, Beverly K. Lawrence, Kira T. Antarctic role in Northern Hemisphere glaciation |
author_facet |
Woodard, Stella C. Rosenthal, Yair Miller, Kenneth G. Wright, James D. Chiu, Beverly K. Lawrence, Kira T. |
author_sort |
Woodard, Stella C. |
title |
Antarctic role in Northern Hemisphere glaciation |
title_short |
Antarctic role in Northern Hemisphere glaciation |
title_full |
Antarctic role in Northern Hemisphere glaciation |
title_fullStr |
Antarctic role in Northern Hemisphere glaciation |
title_full_unstemmed |
Antarctic role in Northern Hemisphere glaciation |
title_sort |
antarctic role in northern hemisphere glaciation |
publisher |
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1255586 https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.1255586 |
geographic |
Antarctic Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Pacific |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica North Atlantic Deep Water North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica North Atlantic Deep Water North Atlantic |
op_source |
Science volume 346, issue 6211, page 847-851 ISSN 0036-8075 1095-9203 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1255586 |
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Science |
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346 |
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6211 |
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847 |
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851 |
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1802651010067333120 |