Work

Enhanced Orbital‐Forcing Sensitivity of Northern High Latitude Temperatures in the Late Cretaceous Relative to Modern Geography

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Orbital forcing is a primary driver of paleoclimate change, but its influence on deep time climates, particularly in the polar regions of the Late Cretaceous, is poorly understood. Here, we conduct climate simulations with an atmosphere‐ocean‐vegetation coupled model, MIROC4mV, to investigate the response of northern high latitude temperature using Maastrichtian geography. By accounting for the full range of orbital parameters, the model successfully reproduces proxy‐based estimates of polar temperatures. Our experiments show that the sensitivity of northern high latitude surface temperature to orbital forcing is higher with Maastrichtian geography than with Modern. In particular, Maastrichtian geography greatly amplifies obliquity‐driven fluctuations due to the large continental landmass at northern high latitudes and the absence of ice sheets. These findings highlight the importance of considering the full range of orbital sensitivity when interpreting geological records from deep‐time periods.

Source: Geophysical Research Letters

DOI: 10.1029/2025gl120337

Authors: Taro Higuchi, Ayako Abe‐Ouchi, Wing‐Le Chan, Ryouta O'ishi

Institutions: Earth-Life Science Institute, The University of Tokyo, Institute of Science Tokyo

Language: English

Topic: Geology and Paleoclimatology Research

Subfield: Atmospheric Science

Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Climate action

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,190