Age and driving mechanisms of the Eocene-Oligocene transition from astronomical tuning of a lacustrine record (Rennes Basin, France)

• Published in: Climate of the Past
• Main Authors: Boulila, Slah, Dupont-Nivet, Guillaume, Galbrun, Bruno, Bauer, Hugues, Châteauneuf, Jean-Jacques
• Other Authors: Institut des Sciences de la Terre de Paris (iSTeP), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de Mécanique Céleste et de Calcul des Ephémérides (IMCCE), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Lille-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Géosciences Rennes (GR), Université de Rennes (UR)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Rennes (OSUR), Université de Rennes (UR)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Rennes 2 (UR2)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Rennes 2 (UR2)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM), Marie-Curie (CIG HIRESDAT), ANR-19-CE31-0002,AstroMeso,Solution astronomique pour le Mésozoïque(2019), European Project: 649081,H2020,ERC-2014-CoG,MAGIC(2015)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2021
• Subjects: Eocene-Oligocene Transition; lacustrine record; astronomical tuning; Rennes basin (France); [SDU.STU]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Ice Sheet; North Atlantic Deep Water; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://insu.hal.science/insu-03594277; https://insu.hal.science/insu-03594277/document; https://insu.hal.science/insu-03594277/file/cp-17-2343-2021.pdf; https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2343-2021

International audience The Eocene-Oligocene Transition (EOT) marks the onset of the Antarctic glaciation and the switch from greenhouse to icehouse climates. However, the driving mechanisms and the precise timing of the EOT remain controversial mostly due to the lack of well-dated stratigraphic records, especially in continental environments. Here we present a cyclo-magnetostratigraphic and sedimentological study of a ∼ 7.6 Myr long lacustrine record spanning the late Eocene to the earliest Oligocene, from a drill core in the Rennes Basin (France). Cyclostratigraphic analysis of natural gamma radiation (NGR) log data yields duration estimates of Chrons C12r through C16n.1n, providing additional constraints on the Eocene timescale. Correlations between the orbital eccentricity curve and the 405 kyr tuned NGR time series indicate that 33.71 and 34.10 Ma are the most likely proposed ages of the EO boundary. Additionally, the 405 kyr tuning calibrates the most pronounced NGR cyclicity to a period of ∼1 Myr, matching the g1-g5 eccentricity term, supporting its significant expression in continental depositional environments, and hypothesizing that the paleolake level may have behaved as a low-pass filter for orbital forcing. Two prominent changes in the sedimentary facies were detected across the EOT, which are temporally equivalent to the two main climatic steps, EOT-1 and Oi-1. We suggest that these two facies changes reflect the two major Antarctic cooling/glacial phases via the hydrological cycle, as significant shifts to drier and cooler climate conditions. Finally, the interval spanning the EOT precursor glacial event through EOT-1 is remarkably dominated by obliquity. This suggests preconditioning of the major Antarctic glaciation, either from obliquity directly affecting the formation/(in)stability of the incipient Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS), or through obliquity modulation of the North Atlantic Deep Water production.