Rapid stepwise onset of Antarctic glaciation and deeper calcite compensation in the Pacific
The ocean depth at which the rate of calcium carbonate input from surface waters equals the rate of dissolution is termed the calcite compensation depth. At present, this depth is 4,500 m, with some variation between and within ocean basins. The calcite compensation depth is linked to ocean acidity,...
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Online Access: | https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/1244/ https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03135 |
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ftunivcardiff:oai:https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk:1244 2023-05-15T13:39:21+02:00 Rapid stepwise onset of Antarctic glaciation and deeper calcite compensation in the Pacific Coxall, Helen Kathrine Wilson, Paul A. Pälike, Heiko Lear, Caroline Helen Backman, Jan 2005-01-01 https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/1244/ https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03135 unknown NPG Coxall, Helen Kathrine https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/view/cardiffauthors/A007483I.html, Wilson, Paul A., Pälike, Heiko, Lear, Caroline Helen https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/view/cardiffauthors/A048848V.html orcid:0000-0002-7533-4430 orcid:0000-0002-7533-4430 and Backman, Jan 2005. Rapid stepwise onset of Antarctic glaciation and deeper calcite compensation in the Pacific. Nature 433 (7021) , pp. 53-57. 10.1038/nature03135 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03135 doi:10.1038/nature03135 GC Oceanography QE Geology Article PeerReviewed 2005 ftunivcardiff https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03135 2022-10-20T22:31:53Z The ocean depth at which the rate of calcium carbonate input from surface waters equals the rate of dissolution is termed the calcite compensation depth. At present, this depth is 4,500 m, with some variation between and within ocean basins. The calcite compensation depth is linked to ocean acidity, which is in turn linked to atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and hence global climate1. Geological records of changes in the calcite compensation depth show a prominent deepening of more than 1 km near the Eocene/Oligocene boundary ( 34 million years ago)2 when significant permanent ice sheets first appeared on Antarctica3, 4, 5, 6, but the relationship between these two events is poorly understood. Here we present ocean sediment records of calcium carbonate content as well as carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions from the tropical Pacific Ocean that cover the Eocene/Oligocene boundary. We find that the deepening of the calcite compensation depth was more rapid than previously documented and occurred in two jumps of about 40,000 years each, synchronous with the stepwise onset of Antarctic ice-sheet growth. The glaciation was initiated, after climatic preconditioning7, by an interval when the Earth's orbit of the Sun favoured cool summers. The changes in oxygen-isotope composition across the Eocene/Oligocene boundary are too large to be explained by Antarctic ice-sheet growth alone and must therefore also indicate contemporaneous global cooling and/or Northern Hemisphere glaciation. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Ice Sheet Cardiff University: ORCA (Online Research @ Cardiff) Antarctic Pacific Nature 433 7021 53 57 |
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Cardiff University: ORCA (Online Research @ Cardiff) |
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ftunivcardiff |
language |
unknown |
topic |
GC Oceanography QE Geology |
spellingShingle |
GC Oceanography QE Geology Coxall, Helen Kathrine Wilson, Paul A. Pälike, Heiko Lear, Caroline Helen Backman, Jan Rapid stepwise onset of Antarctic glaciation and deeper calcite compensation in the Pacific |
topic_facet |
GC Oceanography QE Geology |
description |
The ocean depth at which the rate of calcium carbonate input from surface waters equals the rate of dissolution is termed the calcite compensation depth. At present, this depth is 4,500 m, with some variation between and within ocean basins. The calcite compensation depth is linked to ocean acidity, which is in turn linked to atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and hence global climate1. Geological records of changes in the calcite compensation depth show a prominent deepening of more than 1 km near the Eocene/Oligocene boundary ( 34 million years ago)2 when significant permanent ice sheets first appeared on Antarctica3, 4, 5, 6, but the relationship between these two events is poorly understood. Here we present ocean sediment records of calcium carbonate content as well as carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions from the tropical Pacific Ocean that cover the Eocene/Oligocene boundary. We find that the deepening of the calcite compensation depth was more rapid than previously documented and occurred in two jumps of about 40,000 years each, synchronous with the stepwise onset of Antarctic ice-sheet growth. The glaciation was initiated, after climatic preconditioning7, by an interval when the Earth's orbit of the Sun favoured cool summers. The changes in oxygen-isotope composition across the Eocene/Oligocene boundary are too large to be explained by Antarctic ice-sheet growth alone and must therefore also indicate contemporaneous global cooling and/or Northern Hemisphere glaciation. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Coxall, Helen Kathrine Wilson, Paul A. Pälike, Heiko Lear, Caroline Helen Backman, Jan |
author_facet |
Coxall, Helen Kathrine Wilson, Paul A. Pälike, Heiko Lear, Caroline Helen Backman, Jan |
author_sort |
Coxall, Helen Kathrine |
title |
Rapid stepwise onset of Antarctic glaciation and deeper calcite compensation in the Pacific |
title_short |
Rapid stepwise onset of Antarctic glaciation and deeper calcite compensation in the Pacific |
title_full |
Rapid stepwise onset of Antarctic glaciation and deeper calcite compensation in the Pacific |
title_fullStr |
Rapid stepwise onset of Antarctic glaciation and deeper calcite compensation in the Pacific |
title_full_unstemmed |
Rapid stepwise onset of Antarctic glaciation and deeper calcite compensation in the Pacific |
title_sort |
rapid stepwise onset of antarctic glaciation and deeper calcite compensation in the pacific |
publisher |
NPG |
publishDate |
2005 |
url |
https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/1244/ https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03135 |
geographic |
Antarctic Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Pacific |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Ice Sheet |
op_relation |
Coxall, Helen Kathrine https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/view/cardiffauthors/A007483I.html, Wilson, Paul A., Pälike, Heiko, Lear, Caroline Helen https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/view/cardiffauthors/A048848V.html orcid:0000-0002-7533-4430 orcid:0000-0002-7533-4430 and Backman, Jan 2005. Rapid stepwise onset of Antarctic glaciation and deeper calcite compensation in the Pacific. Nature 433 (7021) , pp. 53-57. 10.1038/nature03135 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03135 doi:10.1038/nature03135 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03135 |
container_title |
Nature |
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433 |
container_issue |
7021 |
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53 |
op_container_end_page |
57 |
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1766117645559529472 |