Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Hydrologic cycling over Antarctica during the middle Miocene warming

Nature Geoscience volume 5, pages 557–560 (2012)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

From 20 to 15 million years (Myr) ago, a period of global warmth reversed the previous ice growth on Antarctica, leading to the retreat of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and the contraction of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet1,2. Pollen recovered from the Antarctic shelf indicates the presence of substantial vegetation on the margins of Antarctica 15.7 Myr ago3. However, the hydrologic regime that supported this vegetation is unclear. Here we combine leaf-wax hydrogen isotopes and pollen assemblages from Ross Sea sediments with model simulations to reconstruct vegetation, precipitation and temperature in Antarctica during the middle Miocene. Average leaf-wax stable hydrogen isotope (δD) values from 20 to 15.5 Myr ago translate to average δD values of −50‰ for precipitation at the margins of Antarctica, higher than modern values. We find that vegetation persisted from 20 to 15.5 Myr ago, with peak expansions 16.4 and 15.7 Myr ago coinciding with peak global warmth4 and vegetation growth5. Our model experiments are consistent with a local moisture source in the Southern Ocean6. Combining proxy measurements with climate simulations, we conclude that summer temperatures were about 11 °C warmer than today, and that there was a substantial increase in moisture delivery to the Antarctic coast.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Geochemical and palynological results from AND-2A core.
Figure 2: T– δD relationship for Antarctica comparing modern versus Miocene.
Figure 3: Miocene climate records.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Billups, K. & Schrag, D. P. Paleotemperatures and ice volume of the past 27 Myr revisited with paired Mg/Ca and O-18/O-16 measurements on benthic foraminifera. Paleoceanography 17, 1003 (2002).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Shevenell, A. E., Kennett, J. P. & Lea, D. W. Middle Miocene ice sheet dynamics, deep-sea temperatures, and carbon cycling: A Southern Ocean perspective. Geochem. Geophys. Geosy. 9, Q02006 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Warny, S. et al. Palynomorphs from a sediment core reveal a sudden remarkably warm Antarctica during the middle Miocene. Geology 37, 955–958 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Zachos, J. C., Pagani, M., Sloan, L., Thomas, E. & Billups, K. Trends, rhythms and aberrations in global climate 65 Myr to present. Science 292, 686–692 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Diester-Haass, L. et al. Mid-Miocene paleoproductivity in the Atlantic Ocean and implications for the global carbon cycle. Paleoceanography 24, PA1209 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Lee, J. E., Fung, I., DePaolo, D. J. & Otto-Bliesner, B. Water isotopes during the last glacial maximum: New general circulation model calculations. J. Geophys. Res. 113, D19109 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. You, Y., Huber, M., Muller, R. D., Poulsen, C. J. & Ribbe, J. Simulation of the middle miocene climate optimum. Geophys. Res. Lett. 36, L04702 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Beerling, D. J. & Royer, D. L. Convergent Cenozoic CO2 history. Nature Geosci. 4, 418–420 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Pagani, M. et al. The role of carbon dioxide during the onset of Antarctic glaciation. Science 334, 1261–1264 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Rignot, E. et al. Recent Antarctic ice mass loss from radar interferometry and regional climate modelling. Nature Geosci. 1, 106–110 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Anderson, J. B. et al. Progressive Cenozoic cooling and the demise of Antarctica’s last refugium. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 108, 11356–11360 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Florindo, F., Harwood, D. M. & Levy, R. H. Introduction to Cenozoic Antarctic glacial history. Global Planet. Change 69 V-VII, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2009.11.001 (2009).

  13. Masson-Delmotte, V. et al. A review of Antarctic surface snow isotopic composition: Observations, atmospheric circulation, and isotopic modeling. J. Clim. 21, 3359–3387 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Dansgaard, W. Stable isotopes in precipitation. Tellus 16, 436–468 (1964).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Petit, J. R. et al. Climate and atmospheric history of the past 420,000 years from the Vostok ice core, Antarctica. Nature 399, 429–436 (1999).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Jouzel, J. et al. Orbital and millennial Antarctic climate variability over the past 800,000 years. Science 317, 793–796 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Sugden, D. E. et al. Preservation of Miocene glacier ice in East Antarctica. Nature 376, 412–414 (1995).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Sachse, D. et al. Sources of variability in the hydrogen isotopic composition of organic compounds from photosynthetic organisms. Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 40, 221–249 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Pagani, M. et al. Arctic hydrology during global warming at the Palaeocene/Eocene thermal maximum. Nature 442, 671–675 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Acton, G. et al. and The ANDRILL-SMS Science Team. Palaeomagnetism of the AND-2A Core, ANDRILL Southern McMurdo Sound Project, Antarctica. Terra Ant. 15, 191–208 (2008–2009).

    Google Scholar 

  21. Lewis, A. R., Marchant, D. R., Ashworth, A. C., Hemming, S. R. & Machlus, M. L. Major middle Miocene global climate change: Evidence from East Antarctica and the Transantarctic Mountains. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 119, 1449–1461 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Yang, H. et al. Carbon and hydrogen isotope fractionation under continuous light: Implications for paleoenvironmental interpretations of the High Arctic during Paleogene warming. Oecologia 160, 461–470 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Yang, H., Liu, W., Leng, Q., Hren, M. T. & Pagani, M. Variation in n-alkane [delta]D values from terrestrial plants at high latitude: Implications for paleoclimate reconstruction. Org. Geochem. 42, 283–288 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Jahren, A. H., Byrne, M. C., Graham, H. V., Sternberg, L. S. L. & Summons, R. E. The environmental water of the middle Eocene Arctic: Evidence from δD, δ O-18 and δ C-13 within specific compounds. Paleogeogr. Paleoclimatol. Paleoecol. 271, 96–103 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Jouzel, J., Hoffmann, G., Koster, R. D. & Masson, V. Water isotopes in precipitation: Data/model comparison for present-day and past climates. Quat. Sci. Rev. 19, 363–379 (2000).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Frierson, D. M. W., Held, I. M. & Zurita-Gotor, P. A gray-radiation aquaplanet moist GCM. Part I: Static stability and eddy scale. J. Atmos. Sci. 63, 2548–2566 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. O’Gorman, P. A. & Schneider, T. The hydrological cycle over a wide range of climates simulated with an idealized GCM. J. Clim. 21, 3815–3832 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Sluijs, A. et al. Subtropical arctic ocean temperatures during the Palaeocene/Eocene thermal maximum. Nature 441, 610–613 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Lewis, A. R. et al. Mid-Miocene cooling and the extinction of tundra in continental Antarctica. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 105, 10676–10680 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Tierney, J. E. et al. Northern hemisphere controls on tropical southeast African climate during the past 60,000 years. Science 322, 252–255 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research used samples acquired by the ANDRILL project and provided by the Antarctic Marine Geology Research Facility at Florida State University. The ANDRILL project is a multinational collaboration involving the Antarctic programmes of Germany, Italy, New Zealand and the USA. The Antarctic Marine Geology Research Facility is sponsored by the US National Science Foundation. Financial support for this research was provided by the US National Science Foundation (ANT-0342484 to D. Harwood and R. Levy, subawards 25-0550-0001-155 to S.J.F. and 25-0550-0001-137 to S.W., ANT-1048343 to S.W. and EAR-090919 to P. Molnar for J-E.L.). This material is based on work supported by the US National Science Foundation under cooperative agreement no. 0342484 through subawards administered and issued by the ANDRILL Science Management Office at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, as part of the ANDRILL US Science Support program. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the US National Science Foundation.. We acknowledge laboratory assistance from M. Rincon, M. Cheetham, Z. Zhang and L. Foersterling and discussions with D. Harwood, A. Tripati, A. Kahmen, J. West,J. Tierney, P. Bart, R. Askin, H. Bao, A. Sessions, G. Schmidt and J. Hayes. The simulations were carried out on the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences’ Dell cluster at the California Institute of Technology, and J-E.L. thanks T. Schneider, T. Merlis, and Z. Tan for their help in incorporating isotopes into GRAM and support by the NASA ROSES Aura Science Team NNH07ZDA001N-AST07-0069.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-0740, USA

    Sarah J. Feakins

  2. Department of Geology and Geophysics and Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803, USA

    Sophie Warny

  3. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109, USA

    Jung-Eun Lee

Authors
  1. Sarah J. Feakins
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sophie Warny
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jung-Eun Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

S.J.F. conducted the organic geochemistry and δD analyses. S.W. directed the palynology. J-E.L. conducted the model experiments. S.J.F., S.W. and J-E.L. contributed to interpreting the data and writing the paper. All authors contributed to discussions of this work.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sarah J. Feakins.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Information (PDF 784 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Feakins, S., Warny, S. & Lee, JE. Hydrologic cycling over Antarctica during the middle Miocene warming. Nature Geosci 5, 557–560 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1498

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1498

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing Microbiology

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Microbiology newsletter — what matters in microbiology research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Microbiology