Pronounced zonal heterogeneity in Eocene southern high-latitude sea surface temperatures

Reconstructions of ancient high-latitude climates can help to constrain the amplification of global warming in polar environments. Climate models cannot reproduce the elevated high-latitude temperature estimates in the Eocene epoch, possibly indicating problems in simulating polar climate change. Wi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Main Authors: Douglas, Peter M. J., Affek, Hagit P., Ivany, Linda C., Houben, Alexander J. P., Sijp, Willem P., Sluijs, Appy, Schouten, Stefan, Pagani, Mark
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: National Academy of Sciences 2014
Subjects:
Physical Sciences
Antarctic
Antarctic Peninsula
Pacific
The Antarctic
Antarc*
Online Access:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4020054
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24753570
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1321441111
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Summary:Reconstructions of ancient high-latitude climates can help to constrain the amplification of global warming in polar environments. Climate models cannot reproduce the elevated high-latitude temperature estimates in the Eocene epoch, possibly indicating problems in simulating polar climate change. Widely divergent near-Antarctic Eocene sea surface temperature (SST) estimates, however, question the evidence for extreme warmth. Our analysis of multiple temperature proxies near the Antarctic Peninsula improves intersite comparisons and indicates a substantial zonal SST gradient between the southwest Pacific and South Atlantic. Simulations of Eocene ocean temperatures imply that the formation of deep water in the southwest Pacific partly accounts for this SST gradient, suggesting that climate models underestimate Eocene SSTs in regions where the thermohaline circulation leads to relatively high temperatures.

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