Mediterranean heat injection to the North Atlantic delayed the intensification of Northern Hemisphere glaciations
The intensification of Northern Hemisphere glaciations at the end of the Pliocene epoch marks one of the most substantial climatic shifts of the Cenozoic. Despite global cooling, sea surface temperatures in the high latitude North Atlantic Ocean rose between 2.9–2.7 million years ago. Here we presen...
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
---|---|
Other Authors: | , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2021
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/420498 |
id |
ftunivutrecht:oai:dspace.library.uu.nl:1874/420498 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftunivutrecht:oai:dspace.library.uu.nl:1874/420498 2023-07-23T04:19:50+02:00 Mediterranean heat injection to the North Atlantic delayed the intensification of Northern Hemisphere glaciations Kaboth-Bahr, Stefanie Bahr, André Stepanek, Christian Catunda, Maria Carolina Amorim Karas, Cyrus Ziegler, Martin García-Gallardo, Ángela Grunert, Patrick Stratigraphy and paleontology Stratigraphy & paleontology 2021-08-10 application/pdf https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/420498 en eng 2662-4435 https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/420498 info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess Article 2021 ftunivutrecht 2023-07-02T03:40:54Z The intensification of Northern Hemisphere glaciations at the end of the Pliocene epoch marks one of the most substantial climatic shifts of the Cenozoic. Despite global cooling, sea surface temperatures in the high latitude North Atlantic Ocean rose between 2.9–2.7 million years ago. Here we present sedimentary geochemical proxy data from the Gulf of Cadiz to reconstruct the variability of Mediterranean Outflow Water, an important heat source to the North Atlantic. We find evidence for enhanced production of Mediterranean Outflow from the mid-Pliocene to the late Pliocene which we infer could have driven a sub-surface heat channel into the high-latitude North Atlantic. We then use Earth System Models to constrain the impact of enhanced Mediterranean Outflow production on the northward heat transport in the North Atlantic. In accord with the proxy data, the numerical model results support the formation of a sub-surface channel that pumped heat from the subtropics into the high latitude North Atlantic. We further suggest that this mechanism could have delayed ice sheet growth at the end of the Pliocene. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ice Sheet North Atlantic Utrecht University Repository |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Utrecht University Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivutrecht |
language |
English |
description |
The intensification of Northern Hemisphere glaciations at the end of the Pliocene epoch marks one of the most substantial climatic shifts of the Cenozoic. Despite global cooling, sea surface temperatures in the high latitude North Atlantic Ocean rose between 2.9–2.7 million years ago. Here we present sedimentary geochemical proxy data from the Gulf of Cadiz to reconstruct the variability of Mediterranean Outflow Water, an important heat source to the North Atlantic. We find evidence for enhanced production of Mediterranean Outflow from the mid-Pliocene to the late Pliocene which we infer could have driven a sub-surface heat channel into the high-latitude North Atlantic. We then use Earth System Models to constrain the impact of enhanced Mediterranean Outflow production on the northward heat transport in the North Atlantic. In accord with the proxy data, the numerical model results support the formation of a sub-surface channel that pumped heat from the subtropics into the high latitude North Atlantic. We further suggest that this mechanism could have delayed ice sheet growth at the end of the Pliocene. |
author2 |
Stratigraphy and paleontology Stratigraphy & paleontology |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kaboth-Bahr, Stefanie Bahr, André Stepanek, Christian Catunda, Maria Carolina Amorim Karas, Cyrus Ziegler, Martin García-Gallardo, Ángela Grunert, Patrick |
spellingShingle |
Kaboth-Bahr, Stefanie Bahr, André Stepanek, Christian Catunda, Maria Carolina Amorim Karas, Cyrus Ziegler, Martin García-Gallardo, Ángela Grunert, Patrick Mediterranean heat injection to the North Atlantic delayed the intensification of Northern Hemisphere glaciations |
author_facet |
Kaboth-Bahr, Stefanie Bahr, André Stepanek, Christian Catunda, Maria Carolina Amorim Karas, Cyrus Ziegler, Martin García-Gallardo, Ángela Grunert, Patrick |
author_sort |
Kaboth-Bahr, Stefanie |
title |
Mediterranean heat injection to the North Atlantic delayed the intensification of Northern Hemisphere glaciations |
title_short |
Mediterranean heat injection to the North Atlantic delayed the intensification of Northern Hemisphere glaciations |
title_full |
Mediterranean heat injection to the North Atlantic delayed the intensification of Northern Hemisphere glaciations |
title_fullStr |
Mediterranean heat injection to the North Atlantic delayed the intensification of Northern Hemisphere glaciations |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mediterranean heat injection to the North Atlantic delayed the intensification of Northern Hemisphere glaciations |
title_sort |
mediterranean heat injection to the north atlantic delayed the intensification of northern hemisphere glaciations |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/420498 |
genre |
Ice Sheet North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Ice Sheet North Atlantic |
op_relation |
2662-4435 https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/420498 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
_version_ |
1772183279683764224 |