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Large obliquity-paced Antarctic ice-volume fluctuations suggest melting by atmospheric and ocean warming during late Oligocene

The late Oligocene (~27.8-23 My ago) offers an opportunity to study past climate variability under high-CO2, warmer-than-present and the unipolar (Antarctic) glaciated state. Here, we present new high-resolution geochemical records from exquisitely well-preserved benthic foraminifera for the late Ol...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Brzelinski, Swaantje (Author) , Bornemann, André (Author) , Liebrand, Diederik (Author) , van Peer, Tim E. (Author) , Wilson, Paul A. (Author) , Friedrich, Oliver (Author)
Format: Article (Journal)
Language:English
Published: 2023
In: Communications earth & environment
Year: 2023, Volume: 4, Pages: 1-8
ISSN:2662-4435
DOI:10.1038/s43247-023-00864-9
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Author Notes:Swaantje Brzelinski, André Bornemann, Diederik Liebrand, Tim E. van Peer, Paul A. Wilson & Oliver Friedrich
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Summary:The late Oligocene (~27.8-23 My ago) offers an opportunity to study past climate variability under high-CO2, warmer-than-present and the unipolar (Antarctic) glaciated state. Here, we present new high-resolution geochemical records from exquisitely well-preserved benthic foraminifera for the late Oligocene, an interval for which Antarctic ice-sheet size and stability are debated. Our records indicate four obliquity-paced glacial-interglacial cycles with ice-volume changes of up to ~70% of the modern Antarctic ice-sheet. The amplitude of ice-volume change during these late Oligocene glacial-interglacial cycles is comparable to that of the late Pliocene and early Pleistocene. Ice-volume estimates for interglacials are small enough to be accommodated by a land-based Antarctic ice-sheet but, for three of the four glacials studied, our calculations imply that ice sheets likely advanced beyond the Antarctic coastline onto the shelves. Our findings suggest an Antarctic ice-sheet vulnerable to melting driven by both bottom-up (ocean) and top-down (atmospheric) warming under late Oligocene warmer-than-present climate conditions.
Item Description:Veröffentlicht: 22. Juni 2023
Gesehen am 03.08.2023
Physical Description:Online Resource
ISSN:2662-4435
DOI:10.1038/s43247-023-00864-9

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