Persistent influence of precession on northern ice sheet variability since the early Pleistocene
Year: 2022
Type: article
Abstract: Prior to ~1 million years ago (Ma), variations in global ice volume were dominated by changes in obliquity; however, the role of precession remains unresolved. Using a record of North Atlantic ice rafting spanning the past 1.7 million years, we find that the onset of ice rafting within a given glacial cycle (reflecting ice sheet expansion) consistently occurred during times of decreasing obliquity whereas mass ice wasting (ablation) events were consistently tied to minima in precession. Furthermore, our results suggest that the ubiquitous association between precession-driven mass wasting events and glacial termination is a distinct feature of the mid to late Pleistocene. Before then (increasing), obliquity alone was sufficient to end a glacial cycle, before losing its dominant grip on deglaciation with the southward extension of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets since ~1 Ma.
Source: Science
Authors: Stephen Barker, Aidan Starr, Jeroen van der Lubbe, Alice Doughty, Gregor Knorr, Stephen Conn, Sian Lordsmith, Lindsey Owen, Alexandra Nederbragt, Sidney Hemming, Ian Hall, Leah Levay, IODP Exp 361 Shipboard Scientific Party†, M. A. Berke, L. Brentegani, T. Caley, A. Cartagena-Sierra, C. D. Charles, J. J. Coenen, J. G. Crespin, A. M. Franzese, J. Gruetzner, X. Han, S. K. V. Hines, F. J. Jimenez Espejo, J. Just, A. Koutsodendris, K. Kubota, N. Lathika, R. D. Norris, T. Periera dos Santos, R. Robinson, J. M. Rolison, M. H. Simon, D. Tangunan, M. Yamane, H. Zhang
Institutions: Cardiff University, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, University of Maine, Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Texas A&M University, University of Notre Dame, Queensland University of Technology, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Bordeaux, Environnements et Paléoenvironnements Océaniques et Continentaux, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Northern Illinois University, Hostos Community College, Second Institute of Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, University of Cologne, Heidelberg University, National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, University of Rhode Island, NORCE Research AS, Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research, Nagoya University, Nagoya University, Yunnan University
Language: English
Subfield: Atmospheric Science
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Climate action
Open Access status: green
Awards: Assessing the role of millennial-scale variability in glacial-interglacial climate change, Establishment of continuous atmospheric CO2 record for the past 7 million years, Beyond Greenland: Extending the record of abrupt climate variability, UKIODP Moratorium Award - IODP Expedition 361, Southern African Climates - Ian Hall, IODP Exp 361 SAFARI Moratorium: Glacial terminations of the Plio-Pleistocene
OpenAlex ID: W4281558684