Arctic Ocean Benthic Foraminiferal Faunae Change Associated with the Onset of Perennial Sea Ice in the Middle Miocene

Kender, Sev; Kaminski, Michael A.

doi:10.2113/gsjfr.43.1.99

Cited by 11 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 46 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Proxy evidence suggests that the middle Miocene Arctic, was ∼11-19 °C warmer than at present and sea ice was not perennial (see e.g. Goldner et al, 2014a;Herold et al, 2011b;Kender & Kaminski, 2013;Pound et al, 2012;Stein et al, 2016;Super et al, this volume).…”

Section: Accepted Articlementioning

confidence: 99%

“…At higher latitudes, the data more clearly converge on a warming that is impossible to explain with existing models. Proxy evidence suggests that the middle Miocene Arctic, was ∼11°C-19°C warmer than at present and sea ice was not perennial (see e.g., Goldner et al, 2014a;Herold et al, 2011b;Kender & Kaminski, 2013;Pound et al, 2012;Stein et al, 2016;Super et al, 2020). After the cooling of STEINTHORSDOTTIR ET AL.…”

Section: Spatial Gradients In Sea Surface Temperaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…At higher latitudes, the data more clearly converge on a warming that is impossible to explain with existing models. Proxy evidence suggests that the middle Miocene Arctic, was ∼11°C–19°C warmer than at present and sea ice was not perennial (see e.g., Goldner et al., 2014a; Herold et al., 2011b; 2012; Kender & Kaminski, 2013; Pound et al., 2012; Stein et al., 2016; Super et al., 2020). After the cooling of the MMCT, however, proxy evidence for perennial Arctic Sea ice does occur (∼13 Ma; Krylov et al., 2008), suggesting a coeval freeze in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.…”

Section: Marine Climate Recordsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The Miocene: The Future of the Past

Steinthorsdottir

Coxall

Boer

et al. 2021

Paleoceanog and Paleoclimatol

250

179

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Miocene epoch (23.03-5.33 Ma) was a time interval of global warmth, relative to today.Continental configurations and mountain topography transitioned toward modern conditions, and many flora and fauna evolved into the same taxa that exist today. Miocene climate was dynamic: long periods of early and late glaciation bracketed a ∼2 Myr greenhouse interval-the Miocene Climatic Optimum (MCO). Floras, faunas, ice sheets, precipitation, pCO 2 , and ocean and atmospheric circulation mostly (but not ubiquitously) covaried with these large changes in climate. With higher temperatures and moderately higher pCO 2 (∼400-600 ppm), the MCO has been suggested as a particularly appropriate analog for future climate scenarios, and for assessing the predictive accuracy of numerical climate models-the same models that are used to simulate future climate. Yet, Miocene conditions have proved difficult to reconcile with models. This implies either missing positive feedbacks in the models, a lack of knowledge of past climate forcings, or the need for re-interpretation of proxies, which might mitigate the model-data discrepancy. Our understanding of Miocene climatic, biogeochemical, and oceanic changes on broad spatial and temporal scales is still developing. New records documenting the physical, chemical, and biotic aspects of the Earth system are emerging, and together provide a more comprehensive understanding of this important time interval. Here, we review the state-of-the-art in Miocene climate, ocean circulation, biogeochemical cycling, ice sheet dynamics, and biotic adaptation research as inferred through proxy observations and modeling studies. Plain Language Summary During the Miocene time period (∼23-5 million years ago),Planet Earth looked similar to today, with some important differences: the climate was generally warmer and highly variable, while atmospheric CO 2 was not much higher. Continental-sized ice sheets were only present on Antarctica, but not in the northern hemisphere. The continents drifted to near their modernday positions, and plants and animals evolved into the many (near) modern species. Scientists study the Miocene because present-day and projected future CO 2 levels are in the same range as those reconstructed for the Miocene. Therefore, if we can understand climate changes and their biotic responses from the Miocene past, we are able to better predict current and future global changes. By comparing Miocene climate reconstructions from fossil and chemical data to climate simulations produced by computer models, scientists are able to test their understanding of the Earth system under higher CO 2 and warmer conditions than those of today. This helps in constraining future warming scenarios for the coming STEINTHORSDOTTIR ET AL.

show abstract

Section: Accepted Articlementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Spatial Gradients In Sea Surface Temperaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…At higher latitudes, the data more clearly converge on a warming that is impossible to explain with existing models. Proxy evidence suggests that the middle Miocene Arctic, was ∼11°C–19°C warmer than at present and sea ice was not perennial (see e.g., Goldner et al., 2014a; Herold et al., 2011b; 2012; Kender & Kaminski, 2013; Pound et al., 2012; Stein et al., 2016; Super et al., 2020). After the cooling of the MMCT, however, proxy evidence for perennial Arctic Sea ice does occur (∼13 Ma; Krylov et al., 2008), suggesting a coeval freeze in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.…”

Section: Marine Climate Recordsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Miocene: The Future of the Past

Steinthorsdottir

Coxall

Boer

et al. 2021

Paleoceanog and Paleoclimatol

250

179

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The MCO was terminated by global cooling of ~4 °C in the deep‐sea during the Middle Miocene Climate Transition (MMCT; ~14.5 to 12.5 Ma), which coincided with ice sheet expansion in Antarctica (Shevenell et al, 2004, 2008; Holbourn et al, 2014) and declining atmospheric CO 2 levels (Pagani et al, 1999; Foster et al, 2012; Super et al, 2018). Perennial sea ice may have first formed in the Arctic at this time (Darby, 2008; Krylov et al, 2008; Kender & Kaminski, 2013). Subsequently, the late Miocene (~8–6 Ma) was marked by cooling of up to 6 °C of high‐latitude surface waters and deep‐sea temperature.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Miocene Evolution of North Atlantic Sea Surface Temperature

Super

Thomas

Pagani

et al. 2020

Paleoceanog and Paleoclimatol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We reconstruct sea surface temperatures (SSTs) at Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 608 (42.836°N, 23.087°), north of the Azores Front, and Ocean Drilling Program Site 982 (57.516°N, 15.866°), under the North Atlantic Current, in order to track Miocene (23.1-5.3 Ma) development of North Atlantic surface waters. Mean annual SSTs from TEX 86 and U K′37 proxy estimates at both sites were 10-15°C higher than modern through the Miocene Climatic Optimum (17-14.5 Ma). During the global cooling of the Middle Miocene Climate Transition (~14.5-12.5 Ma), SSTs at midlatitude Site 608 cooled by~6°C, whereas high-latitude Site 982 cooled by only~2°C, resulting in an~4 Myr collapse of the SST gradient between the two sites. This regional pattern is inconsistent with an increased latitudinal surface temperature gradient, as generally associated with global cooling episodes linked to decreasing pCO 2 levels. Instead, the pattern is best explained by enhanced ocean heat transport into the high-latitude North Atlantic superimposed on the global cooling trend, probably due to enhanced Atlantic meridional overturning circulation and/or a stronger North Atlantic Current. During global late Miocene cooling (~8-7 Ma), surface waters cooled bỹ 6°C at Site 982 while minimal change occurred at Site 608, reestablishing the North Atlantic SST gradient. The collapse and reemergence of the SST gradient between the middle-and high-latitude North Atlantic suggests that interaction between changes in regional ocean circulation and the global response to changes in greenhouse gas concentration was important in Miocene climate evolution.

show abstract

“…Set within a long term cooling trend from 15 to 10 Ma, the rapid expansion of the East Antarctic ice sheet at 13.8 Ma 3 5 is associated with a sea level fall in the order of ~60 m 6 7 , and a coeval drop in deep ocean temperature of ~2°C 2 8 . This glacial expansion was accompanied by the extinction of Antarctic tundra 9 , a ~6–7°C fall in sea surface temperature in the high latitude southwest Pacific 10 , the development of perennial sea ice in the Arctic 11 12 , the development of significant temperate terrestrial biotic provinces including the early expansion of C 4 grasses 13 , and significant tectonic events that would have impacted on the global carbon cycle (see Supplementary Information ). Hypotheses for the causes of this transition include CO 2 drawdown, perhaps from a cessation of mid Miocene volcanism 14 or enhanced terrestrial weathering and erosion 15 , priming the climate system for ice sheet growth during low amplitude orbital eccentricity at 13.8 Ma 1 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Deep ocean carbonate ion increase during mid Miocene CO2 decline

Kender

Peck

2014

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Characterised by long term cooling and abrupt ice sheet expansion on Antarctica ~14 Ma ago, the mid Miocene marked the beginning of the modern ice-house world, yet there is still little consensus on its causes, in part because carbon cycle dynamics are not well constrained. In particular, changes in carbonate ion concentration ([CO32−]) in the ocean, the largest carbon reservoir of the ocean-land-atmosphere system, are poorly resolved. We use benthic foraminiferal B/Ca ratios to reconstruct relative changes in [CO32−] from the South Atlantic, East Pacific, and Southern Oceans. Our results suggest an increase of perhaps ~40 μmol/kg may have occurred between ~15 and 14 Ma in intermediate to deep waters in each basin. This long-term increase suggests elevated alkalinity input, perhaps from the Himalaya, rather than other shorter-term mechanisms such as ocean circulation or ecological changes, and may account for some of the proposed atmospheric CO2 decline before ~14 Ma.

show abstract

Arctic Ocean Benthic Foraminiferal Faunae Change Associated with the Onset of Perennial Sea Ice in the Middle Miocene

Cited by 11 publications

References 46 publications

The Miocene: The Future of the Past

The Miocene: The Future of the Past

Miocene Evolution of North Atlantic Sea Surface Temperature

Deep ocean carbonate ion increase during mid Miocene CO2 decline

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About