The respective role of atmospheric carbon dioxide and orbital parameters on ice sheet evolution at the Eocene-Oligocene transition

• Published in: Paleoceanography
• Main Authors: Ladant, Jean-Baptiste, Donnadieu, Yannick, Lefebvre, Vincent, Dumas, Christophe
• Other Authors: Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement Gif-sur-Yvette (LSCE), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Direction de Recherche Fondamentale (CEA) (DRF (CEA)), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA), Centre européen de recherche et d'enseignement des géosciences de l'environnement (CEREGE), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Collège de France (CdF (institution))-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Modélisation du climat (CLIM), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Direction de Recherche Fondamentale (CEA) (DRF (CEA)), Tages SAS (.)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2014
• Subjects: [SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean; Atmosphere; [SDU.STU.CL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Climatology; [SDU.STU.OC]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Oceanography; [SDU.STU.PG]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Paleontology; Antarc*; Antarctic; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-02902779; https://hal.science/hal-02902779/document; https://hal.science/hal-02902779/file/2013PA002593.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1002/2013PA002593

International audience The continental scale initiation of the Antarctic ice sheet at the Eocene-Oligocene boundary (Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT), 34 Ma) is associated with a global reorganization of the climate. If data studies have assessed the precise timing and magnitudes of the ice steps, modeling studies have been unable to reproduce a transient ice evolution during the Eocene-Oligocene transition in agreement with the data. Here we simulate this transition using general circulation models coupled to an ice sheet model. Our simulations reveal a threshold for continental scale glaciation of 900 ppm, 100 to 150 ppm higher than previous studies. This result supports the existence of ephemeral ice sheets during the middle Eocene, as similar CO 2 levels (900-1000 ppm) have been reached episodically during this period. Transient runs show that the ice growth is accurately timed with EOT-1 and Oi-1, the two δ 18 O excursions occurring during the transition. We show that CO 2 and orbital variations are crucial in initiating these steps, with EOT-1 corresponding to the occurrence of low summer insolation, whereas Oi-1 is controlled by a major CO 2 drop. The two δ 18 O steps record both ice growth and temperature, representing some 10-30 m eustatic sea level fall and 2-4°C cooling at EOT-1 and 70 ± 20 m and 0-2°C for Oi-1. The simulated magnitude of the ice steps (10 m for EOT-1 and 63 m for Oi-1) and the overall cooling at various locations show a good agreement with the data, which supports our results concerning this critical transition.