Southern Ocean warming and Wilkes Land ice sheet retreat during the mid-Miocene

Authors

Francesca Sangiorgi, Utrecht UniversityFollow
Peter K. Bijl, Utrecht UniversityFollow
Sandra Passchier, Montclair State UniversityFollow
Ulrich Salzmann, Northumbria University
Stefan Schouten, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute of Sea ResearchFollow
Robert McKay, Victoria University of WellingtonFollow
Rosemary Cody, Victoria University of WellingtonFollow
Jörg Pross, Universitat HeidelbergFollow
Tina Van de Flierdt, Imperial College LondonFollow
Steven M. Bohaty, University of SouthamptonFollow
Richard Levy, GNS ScienceFollow
Trevor Williams, Texas A & M UniversityFollow
Carlota Escutia, Universidad de GranadaFollow
Henk Brinkhuis, Utrecht UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-22-2018

Abstract

Observations and model experiments highlight the importance of ocean heat in forcing ice sheet retreat during the present and geological past, but past ocean temperature data are virtually missing in ice sheet proximal locations. Here we document paleoceanographic conditions and the (in)stability of the Wilkes Land subglacial basin (East Antarctica) during the mid-Miocene (~17–13.4 million years ago) by studying sediment cores from offshore Adélie Coast. Inland retreat of the ice sheet, temperate vegetation, and warm oligotrophic waters characterise the mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum (MCO; 17–14.8 Ma). After the MCO, expansion of a marine-based ice sheet occurs, but remains sensitive to melting upon episodic warm water incursions. Our results suggest that the mid-Miocene latitudinal temperature gradient across the Southern Ocean never resembled that of the present day. We demonstrate that a strong coupling of oceanic climate and Antarctic continental conditions existed and that the East Antarctic subglacial basins were highly sensitive to ocean warming.

DOI

10.1038/s41467-017-02609-7

MSU Digital Commons Citation

Sangiorgi, Francesca; Bijl, Peter K.; Passchier, Sandra; Salzmann, Ulrich; Schouten, Stefan; McKay, Robert; Cody, Rosemary; Pross, Jörg; Van de Flierdt, Tina; Bohaty, Steven M.; Levy, Richard; Williams, Trevor; Escutia, Carlota; and Brinkhuis, Henk, "Southern Ocean warming and Wilkes Land ice sheet retreat during the mid-Miocene" (2018). Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works. 28.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/earth-environ-studies-facpubs/28

Published Citation

Sangiorgi, F., Bijl, P.K., Passchier, S., Salzmann, U., Schouten, S., McKay, R., Cody, R.D., Pross, J., van de Flierdt, T., Bohaty, S.M., Levy, R., Williams, T., Escutia, C., Brinkhuis, H., 2018. Southern Ocean warming and Wilkes Land ice sheet retreat during the mid-Miocene. Nature communications 9, 317.