Late Pliocene Greenland glaciation controlled by a decline in atmospheric CO2 levels
It is thought that the Northern Hemisphere experienced only ephemeral glaciations from the Late Eocene to the Early Pliocene epochs (about 38 to 4 million years ago), and that the onset of extensive glaciations did not occur until about 3 million years ago. Several hypotheses have been proposed to e...
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Online Access: | http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/4131/ https://doi.org/10.1038/nature07223 |
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ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:4131 2024-06-09T07:46:18+00:00 Late Pliocene Greenland glaciation controlled by a decline in atmospheric CO2 levels Lunt, Daniel J. Foster, Gavin L. Haywood, Alan M. Stone, Emma J. 2008 http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/4131/ https://doi.org/10.1038/nature07223 unknown Macmillan Lunt, Daniel J.; Foster, Gavin L.; Haywood, Alan M.; Stone, Emma J. 2008 Late Pliocene Greenland glaciation controlled by a decline in atmospheric CO2 levels. Nature, 454 (7208). 1102-1105. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature07223 <https://doi.org/10.1038/nature07223> Glaciology Earth Sciences Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2008 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.1038/nature07223 2024-05-15T08:46:53Z It is thought that the Northern Hemisphere experienced only ephemeral glaciations from the Late Eocene to the Early Pliocene epochs (about 38 to 4 million years ago), and that the onset of extensive glaciations did not occur until about 3 million years ago. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain this increase in Northern Hemisphere glaciation during the Late Pliocene. Here we use a fully coupled atmosphere–ocean general circulation model and an ice-sheet model to assess the impact of the proposed driving mechanisms for glaciation and the influence of orbital variations on the development of the Greenland ice sheet in particular. We find that Greenland glaciation is mainly controlled by a decrease in atmospheric carbon dioxide during the Late Pliocene. By contrast, our model results suggest that climatic shifts associated with the tectonically driven closure of the Panama seaway with the termination of a permanent El Niño state or with tectonic uplift are not large enough to contribute significantly to the growth of the Greenland ice sheet; moreover, we find that none of these processes acted as a priming mechanism for glacial inception triggered by variations in the Earth's orbit. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland Ice Sheet Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Greenland Nature 454 7208 1102 1105 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftnerc |
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unknown |
topic |
Glaciology Earth Sciences |
spellingShingle |
Glaciology Earth Sciences Lunt, Daniel J. Foster, Gavin L. Haywood, Alan M. Stone, Emma J. Late Pliocene Greenland glaciation controlled by a decline in atmospheric CO2 levels |
topic_facet |
Glaciology Earth Sciences |
description |
It is thought that the Northern Hemisphere experienced only ephemeral glaciations from the Late Eocene to the Early Pliocene epochs (about 38 to 4 million years ago), and that the onset of extensive glaciations did not occur until about 3 million years ago. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain this increase in Northern Hemisphere glaciation during the Late Pliocene. Here we use a fully coupled atmosphere–ocean general circulation model and an ice-sheet model to assess the impact of the proposed driving mechanisms for glaciation and the influence of orbital variations on the development of the Greenland ice sheet in particular. We find that Greenland glaciation is mainly controlled by a decrease in atmospheric carbon dioxide during the Late Pliocene. By contrast, our model results suggest that climatic shifts associated with the tectonically driven closure of the Panama seaway with the termination of a permanent El Niño state or with tectonic uplift are not large enough to contribute significantly to the growth of the Greenland ice sheet; moreover, we find that none of these processes acted as a priming mechanism for glacial inception triggered by variations in the Earth's orbit. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Lunt, Daniel J. Foster, Gavin L. Haywood, Alan M. Stone, Emma J. |
author_facet |
Lunt, Daniel J. Foster, Gavin L. Haywood, Alan M. Stone, Emma J. |
author_sort |
Lunt, Daniel J. |
title |
Late Pliocene Greenland glaciation controlled by a decline in atmospheric CO2 levels |
title_short |
Late Pliocene Greenland glaciation controlled by a decline in atmospheric CO2 levels |
title_full |
Late Pliocene Greenland glaciation controlled by a decline in atmospheric CO2 levels |
title_fullStr |
Late Pliocene Greenland glaciation controlled by a decline in atmospheric CO2 levels |
title_full_unstemmed |
Late Pliocene Greenland glaciation controlled by a decline in atmospheric CO2 levels |
title_sort |
late pliocene greenland glaciation controlled by a decline in atmospheric co2 levels |
publisher |
Macmillan |
publishDate |
2008 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/4131/ https://doi.org/10.1038/nature07223 |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
Greenland Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
Greenland Ice Sheet |
op_relation |
Lunt, Daniel J.; Foster, Gavin L.; Haywood, Alan M.; Stone, Emma J. 2008 Late Pliocene Greenland glaciation controlled by a decline in atmospheric CO2 levels. Nature, 454 (7208). 1102-1105. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature07223 <https://doi.org/10.1038/nature07223> |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature07223 |
container_title |
Nature |
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454 |
container_issue |
7208 |
container_start_page |
1102 |
op_container_end_page |
1105 |
_version_ |
1801376088515936256 |