Persistent influence of precession on northern ice sheet variability since the early Pleistocene

Barker, Stephen; Starr, Aidan; Lubbe, Jeroen van der; Doughty, Alice M.; Knorr, Gregor; Conn, Stephen; Lordsmith, Sian; Owen, Lindsey; Nederbragt, Alexandra J.; Hemming, S. R.; Hall, Ian R; LeVay, Leah J.; Berke, Melissa A.; Brentegani, L.; Caley, Thibaut; Cartagena‐Sierra, A.; Charles, Christopher D.; Coenen, J.J.; Crespin, Julien; Franzese, A.M.; Gruetzner, Jens; Han, Xiqiu; Hines, S.K.V.; Jiménez‐Espejo, Francisco J.; Just, J.; Kubota, Kaoru; Lathika, N.; Norris, Richard D.; Santos, T. Periera dos; Robinson, Rebecca S.; Rolison, John M.; Simon, Margit H.; Tangunan, D.; Yamane, Masako; Zhang, H.

doi:10.1126/science.abm4033

Cited by 23 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 24 publications

(42 reference statements)

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“…The recognition of MCV in Greenland ice cores in the early 1980s ushered in the study of paleoceanographic records at a resolution that is at least 10 times greater than previous orbital-scale studies. Although the initial focus was on the last deglaciation and MIS 3, several long records of MCV are beginning to emerge (Hodell et al, 2008(Hodell et al, , 2015Hodell and Channell, 2016;Barker et al, 2021Barker et al, , 2022, thereby providing an opportunity to document the long-term relationships of climate variability on orbital and millennial timescales and their interactions. Consistent with previous findings, the U1385 record demonstrates that MCV was a persistent feature of intermediate glacial climate states for the last 1.45 Ma, including the 41 kyr world of the early Pleistocene prior to the MPT.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We emphasize that our record is from a single site and should be compared with other records from higher latitudes in the North Atlantic (e.g. Barker et al, 2021Barker et al, , 2022 and elsewhere in order to map geographical differences over time and to develop confidence in the palaeoceanographic interpretations set out here. This study is also limited to the last 1.45 Ma, and we cannot determine the extent to which MCV was present during glacial periods beyond this time.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The study of long-term changes in MCV requires long, continuous sedimentary sequences with high sedimentation rates from climatically sensitive areas of the world ocean. Some marine records of MCV exist beyond the last glacial cycle (McManus et al, 1999;Hodell et al, 2008;Oppo et al, 1998;Kawamura et al, 2017;Jouzel et al, 2007;Loulergue et al, 2008;Barker et al, 2011Barker et al, , 2015Martrat et al, 2007;Margari et al, 2010;Alonso-Garcia et al, 2011;Burns et al, 2019;Gottschalk et al, 2020), but only a few extend beyond 800 ka into the early Pleistocene (Raymo et al, 1998;McIntyre et al, 2001;Birner et al, 2016;Billups and Scheinwald, 2014;Hodell et al, 2015;Hodell and Channell, 2016;Barker et al, 2021Barker et al, , 2022.…”

Section: History Of Millennial Climate Variabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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A 1.5-million-year record of orbital and millennial climate variability in the North Atlantic

et al. 2023

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Abstract. Climate during the last glacial period was marked by abrupt instability on millennial timescales that included large swings of temperature in and around Greenland (Daansgard–Oeschger events) and smaller, more gradual changes in Antarctica (AIM events). Less is known about the existence and nature of similar variability during older glacial periods, especially during the early Pleistocene when glacial cycles were dominantly occurring at 41 kyr intervals compared to the much longer and deeper glaciations of the more recent period. Here, we report a continuous millennially resolved record of stable isotopes of planktic and benthic foraminifera at IODP Site U1385 (the “Shackleton Site”) from the southwestern Iberian margin for the last 1.5 million years, which includes the Middle Pleistocene Transition (MPT). Our results demonstrate that millennial climate variability (MCV) was a persistent feature of glacial climate, both before and after the MPT. Prior to 1.2 Ma in the early Pleistocene, the amplitude of MCV was modulated by the 41 kyr obliquity cycle and increased when axial tilt dropped below 23.5∘ and benthic δ18O exceeded ∼3.8 ‰ (corrected to Uvigerina), indicating a threshold response to orbital forcing. Afterwards, MCV became focused mainly on the transitions into and out of glacial states (i.e. inceptions and terminations) and during times of intermediate ice volume. After 1.2 Ma, obliquity continued to play a role in modulating the amplitude of MCV, especially during times of glacial inceptions, which are always associated with declining obliquity. A non-linear role for obliquity is also indicated by the appearance of multiples (82, 123 kyr) and combination tones (28 kyr) of the 41 kyr cycle. Near the end of the MPT (∼0.65 Ma), obliquity modulation of MCV amplitude wanes as quasi-periodic 100 kyr and precession power increase, coinciding with the growth of oversized ice sheets on North America and the appearance of Heinrich layers in North Atlantic sediments. Whereas the planktic δ18O of Site U1385 shows a strong resemblance to Greenland temperature and atmospheric methane (i.e. Northern Hemisphere climate), millennial changes in benthic δ18O closely follow the temperature history of Antarctica for the past 800 kyr. The phasing of millennial planktic and benthic δ18O variation is similar to that observed for MIS 3 throughout much of the record, which has been suggested to mimic the signature of the bipolar seesaw – i.e. an interhemispheric asymmetry between the timing of cooling in Antarctica and warming in Greenland. The Iberian margin isotopic record suggests that bipolar asymmetry was a robust feature of interhemispheric glacial climate variations for at least the past 1.5 Ma despite changing glacial boundary conditions. A strong correlation exists between millennial increases in planktic δ18O (cooling) and decreases in benthic δ13C, indicating that millennial variations in North Atlantic surface temperature are mirrored by changes in deep-water circulation and remineralization of carbon in the abyssal ocean. We find strong evidence that climate variability on millennial and orbital scales is coupled across different timescales and interacts in both directions, which may be important for linking internal climate dynamics and external astronomical forcing.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: History Of Millennial Climate Variabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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A 1.5-million-year record of orbital and millennial climate variability in the North Atlantic

et al. 2023

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“…The millennial-scale climate variations deciphered from detrended AM (Δδ 18 O) and Antarctic temperature (ΔδD) records show prominent precession and obliquity cycles ( Figures 1 E and 1F), 16 similar to the change rate of ice volume ( Figure 1 D). The phase analyses indicate that large change rates of ice volume (or ice sheet melting) and significant millennial events, including conventional terminations, tend to occur at the precession minima (P min ; around NH June insolation maxima) 16 , 60 under the high-obliquity state, resulting in weak AM and Antarctic warming, a manifestation of the “bipolar see-saw” pattern. 61 A recent model simulation also shows that a precession-controlled increase in low-latitude boreal summer insolation around P min raises the temperature over the tropical Atlantic, which weakens trade winds and reduces Atlantic water vapor, resulting in a decrease in Atlantic sea surface salinity (SSS) and Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) slowdown.…”

Section: The “100-ka Problem” and Millennial-scale Eventsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Milankovitch theory and monsoon

Cheng¹,

Li²,

Sha³

et al. 2022

The Innovation

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“…The less-extensive ice sheets and shorter glacial periods of the Early Pleistocene have been linked to smaller decreases in temperature compared with those of the Middle and Late Pleistocene. Nonetheless, North Atlantic records point to the occurrence of iceberg discharges from marine-terminating ice sheets and disruptions of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) during the interval ~1.43 to ~1.25 Ma ( 17 – 20 ), but their downstream impacts on European climate remain largely unknown. A lengthening and intensification of glacial-interglacial cycles took place over the so-called Early-Middle Pleistocene Transition [~1.25 to ~0.70 Ma ( 21 )], after which ice volume varied with a dominant ~80- to ~120-kyr periodicity.…”

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confidence: 99%

Extreme glacial cooling likely led to hominin depopulation of Europe in the Early Pleistocene

Margari

Hodell

Parfitt

et al. 2023

Science

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The oldest known hominin remains in Europe [~1.5 to ~1.1 million years ago (Ma)] have been recovered from Iberia, where paleoenvironmental reconstructions have indicated warm and wet interglacials and mild glacials, supporting the view that once established, hominin populations persisted continuously. We report analyses of marine and terrestrial proxies from a deep-sea core on the Portugese margin that show the presence of pronounced millennial-scale climate variability during a glacial period ~1.154 to ~1.123 Ma, culminating in a terminal stadial cooling comparable to the most extreme events of the last 400,000 years. Climate envelope–model simulations reveal a drastic decrease in early hominin habitat suitability around the Mediterranean during the terminal stadial. We suggest that these extreme conditions led to the depopulation of Europe, perhaps lasting for several successive glacial-interglacial cycles.

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Persistent influence of precession on northern ice sheet variability since the early Pleistocene

Cited by 23 publications

References 24 publications

A 1.5-million-year record of orbital and millennial climate variability in the North Atlantic

A 1.5-million-year record of orbital and millennial climate variability in the North Atlantic

Milankovitch theory and monsoon

Extreme glacial cooling likely led to hominin depopulation of Europe in the Early Pleistocene

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