Continental ice in Greenland during the Eocene and Oligocene
The Eocene and Oligocene epochs ( 55 to 23 million years ago) comprise a critical phase in Earth history. An array of geological records1–5 supported by climate modelling6 indicates a profound shift in global climate during this interval, from a state that was largely free of polar ice caps to one i...
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Online Access: | https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/45369/ http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v446/n7132/pdf/nature05591.pdf |
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ftsouthampton:oai:eprints.soton.ac.uk:45369 2024-02-11T09:55:52+01:00 Continental ice in Greenland during the Eocene and Oligocene Eldrett, J.S. Harding, I.C. Wilson, P.A. Butler, E. Roberts, A.P. 2007-03-08 https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/45369/ http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v446/n7132/pdf/nature05591.pdf unknown Eldrett, J.S., Harding, I.C., Wilson, P.A., Butler, E. and Roberts, A.P. (2007) Continental ice in Greenland during the Eocene and Oligocene. Nature, 446 (7132), 176-179. (doi:10.1038/nature05591 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature05591>). Article PeerReviewed 2007 ftsouthampton https://doi.org/10.1038/nature05591 2024-01-25T23:18:55Z The Eocene and Oligocene epochs ( 55 to 23 million years ago) comprise a critical phase in Earth history. An array of geological records1–5 supported by climate modelling6 indicates a profound shift in global climate during this interval, from a state that was largely free of polar ice caps to one in which ice sheets on Antarctica approached their modern size. However, the early glaciation history of the Northern Hemisphere is a subject of controversy 3,7–9. Here we report stratigraphically extensive ice-rafted debris, including macroscopic dropstones, in late Eocene to early Oligocene sediments from the Norwegian–Greenland Sea that were deposited between about 38 and 30 million years ago. Our data indicate sediment rafting by glacial ice, rather than sea ice, and point to East Greenland as the likely source. Records of this type from one site alone cannot be used to determine the extent of ice involved. However, our data suggest the existence of (at least) isolated glaciers on Greenland about 20 million years earlier than previously documented10, at a time when temperatures and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations were substantially higher. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica East Greenland Greenland Greenland Sea Sea ice University of Southampton: e-Prints Soton Greenland Nature 446 7132 176 179 |
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Open Polar |
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University of Southampton: e-Prints Soton |
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ftsouthampton |
language |
unknown |
description |
The Eocene and Oligocene epochs ( 55 to 23 million years ago) comprise a critical phase in Earth history. An array of geological records1–5 supported by climate modelling6 indicates a profound shift in global climate during this interval, from a state that was largely free of polar ice caps to one in which ice sheets on Antarctica approached their modern size. However, the early glaciation history of the Northern Hemisphere is a subject of controversy 3,7–9. Here we report stratigraphically extensive ice-rafted debris, including macroscopic dropstones, in late Eocene to early Oligocene sediments from the Norwegian–Greenland Sea that were deposited between about 38 and 30 million years ago. Our data indicate sediment rafting by glacial ice, rather than sea ice, and point to East Greenland as the likely source. Records of this type from one site alone cannot be used to determine the extent of ice involved. However, our data suggest the existence of (at least) isolated glaciers on Greenland about 20 million years earlier than previously documented10, at a time when temperatures and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations were substantially higher. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Eldrett, J.S. Harding, I.C. Wilson, P.A. Butler, E. Roberts, A.P. |
spellingShingle |
Eldrett, J.S. Harding, I.C. Wilson, P.A. Butler, E. Roberts, A.P. Continental ice in Greenland during the Eocene and Oligocene |
author_facet |
Eldrett, J.S. Harding, I.C. Wilson, P.A. Butler, E. Roberts, A.P. |
author_sort |
Eldrett, J.S. |
title |
Continental ice in Greenland during the Eocene and Oligocene |
title_short |
Continental ice in Greenland during the Eocene and Oligocene |
title_full |
Continental ice in Greenland during the Eocene and Oligocene |
title_fullStr |
Continental ice in Greenland during the Eocene and Oligocene |
title_full_unstemmed |
Continental ice in Greenland during the Eocene and Oligocene |
title_sort |
continental ice in greenland during the eocene and oligocene |
publishDate |
2007 |
url |
https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/45369/ http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v446/n7132/pdf/nature05591.pdf |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica East Greenland Greenland Greenland Sea Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica East Greenland Greenland Greenland Sea Sea ice |
op_relation |
Eldrett, J.S., Harding, I.C., Wilson, P.A., Butler, E. and Roberts, A.P. (2007) Continental ice in Greenland during the Eocene and Oligocene. Nature, 446 (7132), 176-179. (doi:10.1038/nature05591 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature05591>). |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature05591 |
container_title |
Nature |
container_volume |
446 |
container_issue |
7132 |
container_start_page |
176 |
op_container_end_page |
179 |
_version_ |
1790599270598967296 |