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.

Orbitally induced oscillations in the East Antarctic ice sheet at the Oligocene/Miocene boundary

Abstract

Between 34 and 15 million years (Myr) ago, when planetary temperatures were 3–4 °C warmer than at present and atmospheric CO2 concentrations were twice as high as today1, the Antarctic ice sheets may have been unstable2,3,4,5,6,7. Oxygen isotope records from deep-sea sediment cores suggest that during this time fluctuations in global temperatures and high-latitude continental ice volumes were influenced by orbital cycles8,9,10. But it has hitherto not been possible to calibrate the inferred changes in ice volume with direct evidence for oscillations of the Antarctic ice sheets11. Here we present sediment data from shallow marine cores in the western Ross Sea that exhibit well dated cyclic variations, and which link the extent of the East Antarctic ice sheet directly to orbital cycles during the Oligocene/Miocene transition (24.1–23.7 Myr ago). Three rapidly deposited glacimarine sequences are constrained to a period of less than 450 kyr by our age model, suggesting that orbital influences at the frequencies of obliquity (40 kyr) and eccentricity (125 kyr) controlled the oscillations of the ice margin at that time. An erosional hiatus covering 250 kyr provides direct evidence for a major episode of global cooling and ice-sheet expansion about 23.7 Myr ago, which had previously been inferred from oxygen isotope data (Mi1 event5).

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

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

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

Figure 1: Cross-section through Cenozoic strata beneath the western flank of Roberts ridge, western Ross Sea.
Figure 2: Lithological and environmental changes through sequence 11.
Figure 3: Lithostratigraphy, sequence stratigraphy, variation in sand content and age models for sequences 9, 10 and 11 (130.27–306.65 m) from the CRP-2/2A drill hole.
Figure 4: Correlation of sequences 9,10 and 11 in CRP-2/2A core, western Ross Sea with deep-water benthic foraminiferal δ18O record of ODP site 929, western equatorial Atlantic.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Freeman, K. H. & Hayes, J. M. Fractionation of carbon isotopes by phytoplankton and estimates of ancient CO2 levels. Glob. Biogeochem. Cycles 6, 185–198 (1992).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Barrett, P. J., Elston, D. P., Harwood, D. M., McKelvey, B. C. & Webb, P.-N. Mid-Cenozoic record of glaciation and sea-level change on the margin of the Victoria Land basin, Antarctica. Geology 15, 634–637 (1987).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Barrett, P. J. (ed.) Antarctic Cenozoic history from CIROS-1 drillhole, McMurdo Sound. DSIR Bull. 245, 1–254 (1989).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Hambrey, M. J., Ehrmann, W. U. & Larsen, B. Cenozoic glacial record of the Prydz Bay continental shelf, East Antarctica. Proc. ODP Sci. Res. 119, 77–132 (1991).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Miller, K. G., Wright, J. D. & Fairbanks, R. G. Unlocking the ice house: Oligocene oxygen isotopes, eustasy and margin erosion. J. Geophys. Res. 96, 6829–6848 (1991).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Wise, S. W., Breza, J. R., Harwood, D. M. & Wei, W. in Controversies in Modern Geology (eds Mueller, D., McKenzie, J. & Weissart, H.) 133–177 (Academic, San Diego, 1991).

    Google Scholar 

  7. Zachos, J. C., Breza, J. & Wise, S. W. Early Oligocene ice-sheet expansion on Antarctica: stable isotope and sedimentological evidence from Kerguelen Plateau, southern Indian Ocean. Geology 20, 569–573 (1992).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Zachos, J. C., Quinn, T. M. & Salamy, K. A. High-resolution deep-sea foraminiferal stable isotope records of the Eocene-Oligocene climate transition. Paleoceanography 11, 256–266 (1996).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. Zachos, J. C., Flower, B. P. & Paul, H. Orbitally paced climate oscillations across the Oligocene/Miocene boundary. Nature 388, 567–570 (1997).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Paul, H. A., Zachos, J. C., Flower, B. P. & Tripati, A. Orbitally induced climate and geochemical variability across the Oligocene/Miocene boundary. Paleoceanography 15, 471–485 (2000).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  11. Lear, C. H., Elderfield, H. & Wilson, P. A. Cenozoic deep-sea temperatures and global ice volumes from Mg/Ca in benthic foraminiferal calcite. Science 287, 269–272 (2000).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Hays, D. E. et al. General synthesis. Init. Rep. DSDP 28, 919–942 (1975).

    Google Scholar 

  13. Fielding, C. R., Naish, T. R., Woolfe, K. J. & Lavelle, M. A. Facies analysis and sequence stratigraphy of CRP-2/2A, Victoria Land Basin, Antarctica. Terra Antartica 7, 323–338 (2000).

    Google Scholar 

  14. Cape Roberts Science Team. Studies from the Cape Roberts Project, Ross Sea, Antarctica, Initial report on CRP-2/2A. Terra Antartica 6, 1–173 (1999).

    Google Scholar 

  15. Cape Roberts Science Team. Studies from the Cape Roberts Project, Ross Sea, Antarctica, Initial report on CRP-3. Terra Antartica 7, 1–209 (2000).

    Google Scholar 

  16. Henrys, S. A. et al. Correlation of seismic reflectors with CRP2/2A, Victoria Land Basin, Antarctica. Terra Antartica 7, 221–230 (2000).

    Google Scholar 

  17. Powell, R. D. A model for sedimentation by tidewater glaciers. Ann. Glaciol. 2, 129–134 (1981).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  18. Naish, T. R. & Kamp, P. J. J. Sequence stratigraphy of 6th order (41 k.y.) Pliocene-Pleistocene cyclothems, Wanganui Basin, New Zealand: A case for the regressive systems tract. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 109, 978–999 (1997).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  19. Passchier, S. Soft sediment deformation features in core from CRP-2/2A, Victoria Land Basin, Antarctica. Terra Antartica 7, 401–412 (2000).

    Google Scholar 

  20. Van der Meer, J. J. M. Microscopic observations on the first 300 metres of CRP-2/2A, Victoria Land Basin, Antarctica. Terra Antartica 7, 339–348 (2000).

    Google Scholar 

  21. Talarico, F., Sandroni, S., Fielding, C. F. & Atkins, C. Variability, petrography and provenance of basement clasts in core from CRP-2/2A. Victoria Land Basin, Antarctica. Terra Antartica 7, 529–544 (2000).

    Google Scholar 

  22. Scherer R., Bohaty, S. & Harwood, D. Oligocene and lower Miocene siliceous microfossil biostratigraphy for CRP-2/2A, Victoria Land Basin, Antarctica. Terra Antartica 7, 417–442 (2000).

    Google Scholar 

  23. Bücker, C., Wonik, T. & Jarrard, R. Analysis of downhole logging data from CRP-2/2A, Victoria Land Basin, Antarctica: a multivariate approach. Victoria Land Basin, Antarctica. Terra Antartica 7, 299–310 (2000).

    Google Scholar 

  24. McIntosh, W. C. 40Ar/39Ar geochronology of tephra and volcanic clasts in CRP-2/2A, Victoria Land Basin, Antarctica. Terra Antartica 7, 621–630 (2000).

    Google Scholar 

  25. Watkins, D. K. & Villa, G. Paleogene calcareous nannofossils from CRP-2/2A, Victoria Land Basin, Antarctica. Terra Antartica 7, 443–452 (2000).

    Google Scholar 

  26. Lavelle, M. Strontium isotope stratigraphy and age model for CRP-2/2A, Victoria Land Basin, Antarctica. Terra Antartica 7, 611–620 (2000).

    Google Scholar 

  27. Wilson, G. S., Florindo, F., Sagnotti, L., Roberts, A. & Verosub, K. Magnetostratigraphy of CRP-2/2A, Victoria Land Basin, Antarctica. Terra Antartica 7, 631–646 (2000).

    Google Scholar 

  28. Wilson, G. S. et al. Chronostratigraphy of the CRP-2/2A, Victoria Land Basin, Antarctica. Terra Antartica 7, 647–664 (2000).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  29. Harwood, D. M. & Maruyama, T. Middle Eocene to Pleistocene diatom biostratigraphy of Southern Ocean sediments from the Kerguelen Plateau, Leg 120. Proc. ODP Sci. Res. 120, 683–733 (1992).

    Google Scholar 

  30. Hsü, K. J., Percival, S. F., Wright, R. & Peterson, N. P. Numerical ages of magnetostratigraphically calibrated biostratigraphic zones. Init. Rep. DSDP 73, 625–635 (1983).

    Google Scholar 

  31. Imbrie, J. et al. On the structure and origin of major glaciation cycles 2. The 100,000 year cycle. Paleoceanography 8, 699–735 (1993).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  32. Houghton, J. et al. Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis (Third Assessment Report from IPCC Working Group 1), 1–944 (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 2001).

    Google Scholar 

  33. Cande, S. C. & Kent, D. V. Revised calibration of the geomagnetic polarity time scale for the Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic. J. Geophys. Res. 100, 6093–6095 (1995).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  34. Shackleton, N. J., Crowhurst, S. J., Weedon, G. P. & Laskar, J. Astronomical calibration of Oligocene-Miocene time. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A 357, 1907–1929 (1999).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  35. Laskar, J., Joutel, F. & Boudin, F. Orbital, precessional and insolation quantities for the Earth from -20Myr to +10Myr. Astron. Astrophys. 270, 522–533 (1993).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  36. Shackleton, N. J., Hall, M. A., Raffi, I., Tauxe, L. & Zachos, J. Astronomical calibration for the Oligocene-Miocene boundary. Geology 28, 447–450 (2000).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This Letter is dedicated to the memory of Ken Woolfe, sedimentologist and ISC member of the Cape Roberts Project. The Cape Roberts Project was supported by the Antarctic programmes of Italy, New Zealand, the USA, Germany, Australia, the UK and The Netherlands, with field operations organised by Antarctica New Zealand. We acknowledge the efforts of the Cape Roberts Project International Steering Committee, the Operations/Logistics Management Group, as well as the drilling, logistic support and science teams who provided the material on which this Letter is based. We also acknowledge the support of our home institutions and funding agencies.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tim R. Naish.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Naish, T., Woolfe, K., Barrett, P. et al. Orbitally induced oscillations in the East Antarctic ice sheet at the Oligocene/Miocene boundary. Nature 413, 719–723 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35099534

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/35099534

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

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