Seven Million Years of Glaciation in Greenland

Larsen, Hans Christian; Saunders, A. D.; Clift, Peter D.; Begét, James E.; Wei, Wüchang; Spezzaferri, Silvia

doi:10.1126/science.264.5161.952

Cited by 266 publications

(150 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…41,000-y obliquity-paced timescale (21,22). Evidence of latest Miocene ice accumulation in both the Northern (23) and Southern Hemispheres (24) suggest these glacial periods were global in nature and could have been associated with CO 2 levels low enough to favor C4 vegetation on a global scale.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mio-Pliocene aridity in the south-central Andes associated with Southern Hemisphere cold periods

Amidon

Fisher

Burbank

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Although Earth’s climate history is best known through marine records, the corresponding continental climatic conditions drive the evolution of terrestrial life. Continental conditions during the latest Miocene are of particular interest because global faunal turnover is roughly synchronous with a period of global glaciation from ∼6.2–5.5 Ma and with the Messinian Salinity Crisis from ∼6.0–5.3 Ma. Despite the climatic and ecological significance of this period, the continental climatic conditions associated with it remain unclear. We address this question using erosion rates of ancient watersheds to constrain Mio-Pliocene climatic conditions in the south-central Andes near 30° S. Our results show two slowdowns in erosion rate, one from ∼6.1–5.2 Ma and another from 3.6 to 3.3 Ma, which we attribute to periods of continental aridity. This view is supported by synchrony with other regional proxies for aridity and with the timing of glacial ‟cold” periods as recorded by marine proxies, such as the M2 isotope excursion. We thus conclude that aridity in the south-central Andes is associated with cold periods at high southern latitudes, perhaps due to a northward migration of the Southern Hemisphere westerlies, which disrupted the South American Low Level Jet that delivers moisture to southeastern South America. Colder glacial periods, and possibly associated reductions in atmospheric CO2, thus seem to be an important driver of Mio-Pliocene ecological transitions in the central Andes. Finally, this study demonstrates that paleo-erosion rates can be a powerful proxy for ancient continental climates that lie beyond the reach of most lacustrine and glacial archives.

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mio-Pliocene aridity in the south-central Andes associated with Southern Hemisphere cold periods

Amidon

Fisher

Burbank

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…These are of great (Jonkers et al, 2002), (Pirrie et al, 1997) (Smellie et al, 2006), (Hambrey et al, 2008) (Smellie et al, 2008). In the Northern Hemisphere, in addition to long marine sequences recovered through ODP drilling (Jansen and Sjoholm, 1991) (Larsen et al, 1994),the best exposed outcrop repository of late Cenozoic glaciomarine rocks is the Yakataga Formation (Gulf of Alaska), which dates the earliest marine tidewater glacier incursions to no older than the late Miocene (Lagoe et al, 1993).…”

Section: Messinan Ice-sheets Evolutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this last case glaciations may have started in the south of Greenland rather than in the north, pointing to higher precipitation as the key control for the onset of Greenland glaciation (Larsen et al, 1994). Further afield, and at lower latitudes compared to Greenland, another candidate area that may have experienced enhanced precipitation, and thus could have sustained a large-scale ice sheet during the LE period, is the Pacific margin of …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Insight into the latest Messinian (5.7–5.2Ma) palaeoclimatic events from two deep-sea Atlantic Ocean ODP Sites

Vautravers

2014

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

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Abstract:The results of a multi-proxy study, including quantitative planktonic foraminifera faunal analysis, geochemistry of foraminifera tests, and lithogenic counts (IRD) Highlights: Major oceanographic/climatologic event at the Late Messinian TG12/TG11 transition. Potential for a pre-Quaternary seesaw mechanism. Location of the ice-sheet capable of producing a large deglaciation to be identified.

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“…Below 600 mbsf there is a rapid, down-section transition from lower to higher levels of calcium carbonate and from cool water to warm water species of nanofossils. Although no process has been specified for emplacement of the deeper sand layers in the silt, Larsen et al (1994) suggest that the 60-m interval may correspond to a climatic cooling when there was an increase in clastic material being delivered to the basin. Alternatively, the sand layers in the interval may be the earliest IRD produced by glaciation of southern Greenland.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface textural analysis of quartz sand grains from ODP Site 918 off the southeast coast of Greenland suggests glaciation of southern Greenland at 11 Ma

Helland

Holmes

1997

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

113

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Seven Million Years of Glaciation in Greenland

Cited by 266 publications

References 15 publications

Mio-Pliocene aridity in the south-central Andes associated with Southern Hemisphere cold periods

Mio-Pliocene aridity in the south-central Andes associated with Southern Hemisphere cold periods

Insight into the latest Messinian (5.7–5.2Ma) palaeoclimatic events from two deep-sea Atlantic Ocean ODP Sites

Surface textural analysis of quartz sand grains from ODP Site 918 off the southeast coast of Greenland suggests glaciation of southern Greenland at 11 Ma

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