Abstract. The mid-Piacenzian Warm Period (mPWP; 3264–3025 ka) represents the most
recent interval in Earth's history where atmospheric CO2 levels were
similar to today. The reconstruction of sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and
climate modelling studies has shown that global temperatures were 2–4 ∘C warmer than present. However, detailed reconstructions of
marginal seas and/or coastal zones, linking the coastal and continental
climate evolution, are lacking. This is in part due to the absence of
precise age models for coastal sedimentary successions, as they are
generally formed by dynamic depositional systems with varying sediment and
freshwater inputs. Here, we present a multi-proxy record of Pliocene climate
change in the coastal southern North Sea basin (SNSB) based on the
sedimentary record from borehole Hank, the Netherlands. The marginal marine
setting of the Hank borehole during the late Pliocene provides an excellent
opportunity to correlate marine and terrestrial signals due to continental
sediment input mainly derived from the proto-Rhine–Meuse River. We improve
the existing low-resolution palynology-based age model for the Hank borehole
using stable oxygen and carbon isotope (δ18O and
δ13C) measurements of the endobenthic foraminifera species Cassidulina laevigata, integrated
with biochrono- and seismostratigraphy. Identification of hiatuses and
freshwater effects in the record allows us to isolate glacial–interglacial
climate signals in order to tune the endobenthic oxygen stable isotope record to a
global benthic δ18O stack. This results in a tuned age
framework for the SNSB for the late Pliocene (∼3190–2770 ka). Our multi-proxy climate reconstruction for the interval which covers
part of the mPWP (∼3190–3000 ka) shows a strong agreement
between lipid biomarker and palynology-based terrestrial temperature
proxies, which suggest a stable climate, 1–2 ∘C warmer than
present. In the marine realm, however, biomarker-based SSTs show a large
range of variation (10 ∘C). Nevertheless, the fluctuation is
comparable to other SST records from the North Atlantic and Nordic Seas,
suggesting that a common factor, possibly ocean circulation, exerted a
strong influence over SSTs in the North Atlantic and the North Sea at this
time.
Abstract. The mid-Pliocene Warm Period (mPWP, 3254–3025 ka) represents the most recent interval in Earth's history where atmospheric CO2 levels were similar to today. The reconstruction of sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and modeling studies have shown that global temperatures were 2–4 °C warmer than present. However, detailed reconstructions of marginal seas and/or coastal zones that enable linking climate evolution in the marine realm to that on the continents are lacking. This is in part due to the absence of precise age models for coastal zones, as they are generally dynamic systems with varying sediment and fresh water inputs. Here, we present a multi-proxy record of Pliocene climate change in the coastal Southern North Sea Basin (SNSB) based on the sedimentary record from borehole Hank, the Netherlands. The marginal marine setting of the Hank borehole during the late Pliocene provides an excellent opportunity to correlate marine and terrestrial signals, due to continental sediment input mainly from the proto-Rhine-Meuse river. We improve the existing low-resolution palynology-based age model for the Hank borehole using oxygen stable isotope measurements (δ18O) of the endobenthic foraminifera species Cassidulina laevigata, integrated with biochrono- and seismostratigraphy. Identification of hiatuses and freshwater effects in the record allows us to accurately isolate glacial-interglacial climate signals that can be linked to a reference global benthic δ18O stack. In tandem with the biostratigraphic age control this results in an age framework for the SNSB for the Late Pliocene (~ 3200–2800 ka). Our multi-proxy reconstruction for the mPWP shows a strong agreement between lipid biomarker and palynology-based terrestrial temperature proxies, which suggest a stable climate, 1–2 °C warmer than present. In the marine realm, however, biomarker-based SSTs show a large range of variation (10 °C). Nevertheless, the fluctuation is comparable to other SST records from the North Atlantic and Nordic Seas, suggesting that a common factor, most likely variations in the North Atlantic Current, exerted a strong influence over SSTs in the North Atlantic at this time.
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