Featured
-
-
News & Views |
Reversing Earth’s carbon engine
Enhanced formation of clay in marine sediments in the lead up to the end-Permian mass extinction likely pulled the Earth back into a hot, high-CO2 state similar to that of the Precambrian.
- Hana Jurikova
-
News & Views |
Cycling carbon with coccolithophores
Cellular modelling and geochemical analyses reveal that a dominant group of phytoplankton changed their carbonate production as atmospheric CO2 levels declined from peak levels in the warm early Eocene, hinting at a positive feedback in the global carbon cycle.
- Rosie M. Sheward
-
Article |
Early and late phases of the Permian–Triassic mass extinction marked by different atmospheric CO2 regimes
The first pulse of the Permian–Triassic mass extinction was driven by intense weathering, suppressing CO2, while food web collapse and prolonged warming drove the second pulse, according to a high-resolution record from the Shangsi section, China
- Jiaheng Shen
- , Yi Ge Zhang
- & Ann Pearson
-
Article
| Open AccessPleistocene climate variability in eastern Africa influenced hominin evolution
Over the past 620,000 years, three distinct phases of climate variability in eastern Africa coincided with shifts in hominin evolution and dispersal, according to an analysis of environmental proxy records from a core collected in the Chew Bahir basin of Ethiopia.
- Verena Foerster
- , Asfawossen Asrat
- & Martin H. Trauth
-
Article |
Climatic and tectonic drivers of late Oligocene Antarctic ice volume
Retreat of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet during the late Oligocene was caused primarily by a tectonically driven marine transgression, according to a compilation of Ross Sea surface temperature estimates throughout the Cenozoic.
- B. Duncan
- , R. McKay
- & J. Bendle
-
Article
| Open AccessLast Interglacial decadal sea surface temperature variability in the eastern Mediterranean
Modern decadal scale sea surface temperature variability in the eastern Mediterranean is within the range reported from a Last Interglacial alkenone proxy temperature record. However, future warming could outpace Last Interglacial variability.
- Igor Obreht
- , David De Vleeschouwer
- & Kai-Uwe Hinrichs
-
-
Article
| Open AccessEocene emergence of highly calcifying coccolithophores despite declining atmospheric CO2
Highly calcifying, larger coccolithophores emerged as CO2 generally declined through the Eocene, despite cooling leading to lower organic-matter fixation rates, according to size-dependent coccolith carbon isotope analyses and cell-scale modelling
- L. M. Claxton
- , H. L. O. McClelland
- & R. E. M. Rickaby
-
Article |
Mid-Pliocene El Niño/Southern Oscillation suppressed by Pacific intertropical convergence zone shift
Suppressed El Niño/Southern Oscillation variability during the mid-Pliocene Warm Period was caused mainly by a northward displacement of the intertropical convergence zone, according to an analysis of a large ensemble of climate model simulations.
- Gabriel M. Pontes
- , Andréa S. Taschetto
- & Arthur M. Oldeman
-
Article |
Late Miocene cooling coupled to carbon dioxide with Pleistocene-like climate sensitivity
Climate sensitivity in the late Miocene was comparable to the late Pleistocene and twenty-first century, with cooling at the time coupled to declining carbon dioxide, according to a CO2 record determined from boron isotopes in planktic foraminifera
- Rachel M. Brown
- , Thomas B. Chalk
- & Gavin L. Foster
-
Article |
Astronomically controlled aridity in the Sahara since at least 11 million years ago
Pulses of Saharan dust have been entering the North Atlantic since at least 11 Ma, a result of astronomically paced cycles between arid and humid conditions in northern Africa, according to a terrigenous input record from an ocean core off west Africa.
- Anya J. Crocker
- , B. David A. Naafs
- & Paul A. Wilson
-
Article |
Sustained mid-Pliocene warmth led to deep water formation in the North Pacific
Marine carbon isotope patterns point to substantial deep water formation in the North Pacific during the mid-Pliocene Warm Period, according to a synthesis of carbon isotope records and isotope-enabled climate modelling.
- H. L. Ford
- , N. J. Burls
- & A. V. Fedorov
-
Article |
Twentieth-century Azores High expansion unprecedented in the past 1,200 years
The Azores High over the North Atlantic has expanded due to anthropogenic climate change, disrupting precipitation patterns in western Europe, according to climate modelling and precipitation proxy records spanning the past millennium.
- Nathaniel Cresswell-Clay
- , Caroline C. Ummenhofer
- & Victor J. Polyak
-
Research Briefing |
Closed ocean gateways in the Canadian archipelago are key to glaciation in Scandinavia
In a simulation with a state-of-the-art climate model, obstruction of the ocean gateways in the Canadian archipelago due to ice-sheet growth reroutes currents and alters North Atlantic Ocean conditions, permitting glacial inception in Scandinavia. This mechanism could help to explain periods of rapid ice-sheet growth in Earth’s history.
-
Article |
Ice-free tropical waterbelt for Snowball Earth events questioned by uncertain clouds
The ocean during Neoproterozoic Snowball Earth episodes did not have an ice-free belt in the tropics when likely cloud conditions are taken into account, according to climate and energy-balance modelling.
- Christoph Braun
- , Johannes Hörner
- & Joaquim G. Pinto
-
Article |
Pulses in silicic arc magmatism initiate end-Permian climate instability and extinction
Pulses of silicic arc magmatism—and associated volatile emissions—helped set the timing and magnitude of the environmental disruptions that caused the end-Permian mass extinction, according to U–Pb zircon dating of silicic volcanic and related tephra sequences in eastern Australia.
- Timothy Chapman
- , Luke A. Milan
- & Jim Crowley
-
Article |
Intrusions induce global warming before continental flood basalt volcanism
Continental flood basalt emplacement is facilitated by basaltic intrusions, which crystalize and release carbon dioxide leading to pre-eruptive global warming, according to numerical models and a comparison with Deccan Traps and Columbia River Basalt records.
- Xiaochuan Tian
- & W. Roger Buck
-
Article |
Neogene South Asian monsoon rainfall and wind histories diverged due to topographic effects
A modern-like South Asian Monsoon only appeared when East African and Middle Eastern uplift led to the establishment of the Somali Jet around 13 million years ago, according to Earth system modelling using a range of regional palaeogeographies.
- Anta-Clarisse Sarr
- , Yannick Donnadieu
- & Guillaume Dupont-Nivet
-
Article |
Atmospheric CO2 control of spontaneous millennial-scale ice age climate oscillations
Spontaneous, rapid climate fluctuations occur when atmospheric CO2 is between 190 and 225 ppm, helping explain short-term warm–cool transitions during glacial climate states, according to combined Earth system and dynamical systems model simulations.
- Guido Vettoretti
- , Peter Ditlevsen
- & Sune Olander Rasmussen
-
Article |
Increased interglacial atmospheric CO2 levels followed the mid-Pleistocene Transition
Warm, interglacial CO2 levels increased following the mid-Pleistocene Transition, probably reflecting a step change in the influence of deep-ocean circulation on ice-sheet dynamics, according to a 1.46-million-year-long record of atmospheric CO2 based on plant-wax carbon isotopes.
- Masanobu Yamamoto
- , Steven C. Clemens
- & Ayako Abe-Ouchi
-
Article |
Millennial and centennial CO2 release from the Southern Ocean during the last deglaciation
Expansions of Antarctic Intermediate Water can help explain centennial-scale atmospheric CO2 highs during the last deglaciation, according to a reconstruction of the marine carbonate system in the Southern Ocean.
- Jimin Yu
- , Delia W. Oppo
- & Chen Xu
-
Matters Arising |
Reply to: Atlantic circulation change still uncertain
- L. Caesar
- , G. D. McCarthy
- & S. Rahmstorf
-
Matters Arising |
Atlantic circulation change still uncertain
- K. Halimeda Kilbourne
- , Alan D. Wanamaker
- & Nina M. Whitney
-
Article |
Methane hydrate dissociation across the Oligocene–Miocene boundary
Methane hydrate dissociation occurred across the Oligocene–Miocene boundary, which may have contributed to the termination of glaciation, according to analysis of lipid biomarkers from the Southern Ocean.
- Bumsoo Kim
- & Yi Ge Zhang
-
Article |
Impact of warmer climate periods on flood hazard in the European Alps
Moderate flooding in the European Alps declined during past warmer periods, whereas extreme floods both increased and decreased, according to an analysis of palaeoflood records.
- B. Wilhelm
- , W. Rapuc
- & S. B. Wirth
-
Article |
Jurassic greenhouse ice-sheet fluctuations sensitive to atmospheric CO2 dynamics
Thin ice sheets during the warm Early Jurassic were tightly coupled to atmospheric CO2 fluctuations, according to a CO2 reconstruction based on the carbon isotopes of fossil wood.
- Lee Nordt
- , Daniel Breecker
- & Joseph White
-
Article |
Stormier mid-Holocene southwest Indian Ocean due to poleward trending tropical cyclones
Tropical cyclones frequently hit SE Africa in the mid-Holocene during positive Indian Ocean Dipole phases according to analysis of storm-related tempestite deposits in shoreface sediments off South Africa.
- A. N. Green
- , J. A. G. Cooper
- & M. Zabel
-
Article
| Open AccessA salty deep ocean as a prerequisite for glacial termination
Heat stored in the deep ocean due to salinity stratification contributed to rapid Antarctic warming during middle and late Pleistocene glacial terminations, according to coupled atmosphere–ocean general circulation model simulations.
- Gregor Knorr
- , Stephen Barker
- & Lennert B. Stap
-
Article |
Late Ordovician climate change and extinctions driven by elevated volcanic nutrient supply
Increased volcanism-related phosphorus delivery to the Late Ordovician ocean helps explain widespread cooling and eutrophication-driven extinctions, as shown by a biogeochemical model incorporating volcanic ash phosphorus and carbon isotope records.
- Jack Longman
- , Benjamin J. W. Mills
- & Martin R. Palmer
-
Article |
Interglacial Antarctic–Southern Ocean climate decoupling due to moisture source area shifts
Interglacial temperature coupling between East Antarctica and the Southern Ocean was set by the position of moisture source regions, according to an 800,000-year-long deuterium-excess ice-core record from East Antarctica.
- A. Landais
- , B. Stenni
- & A. Grisart
-
Article |
Great Plains storm intensity since the last glacial controlled by spring surface warming
Shifts in the seasonal timing of land surface warming set the severity of storm systems in the southern Great Plains since the last glacial, according to a hydroclimate proxy record from Texas and palaeoclimate modelling.
- Chijun Sun
- , Timothy M. Shanahan
- & Priyadarsi D. Roy
-
Article
| Open AccessPenultimate deglaciation Asian monsoon response to North Atlantic circulation collapse
The influence of meltwater pulse events on Asian monsoon systems varied in line with the degree of AMOC weakening, according to a multi-proxy analysis of speleothems from China covering the penultimate glacial termination.
- Jasper A. Wassenburg
- , Hubert B. Vonhof
- & Gerald H. Haug
-
Article |
Persistent orbital influence on millennial climate variability through the Pleistocene
Orbital forcing consistently influenced the magnitude of millennial-scale climate variability through the Pleistocene, according to an analysis of four high-resolution Northern Hemisphere proxy records covering the past 1.5 Myr.
- Youbin Sun
- , Jerry F. McManus
- & Zhisheng An
-
Article |
Vertical decoupling in Late Ordovician anoxia due to reorganization of ocean circulation
Reorganized ocean circulation during Late Ordovician cooling altered oxygenation through the water column, provoking a new look at the extinction mechanism, according to anoxia reconstructions using the I/Ca proxy and Earth system modelling.
- Alexandre Pohl
- , Zunli Lu
- & Andy Ridgwell
-
Article |
Direct astronomical influence on abrupt climate variability
Millennial-scale climate oscillations can arise from orbital forcing alone during relatively stable glacial climate states, according to an analysis of high- and low-latitude climate proxy records as well as climate modelling.
- Xu Zhang
- , Stephen Barker
- & Fahu Chen
-
Article |
Delayed and variable late Archaean atmospheric oxidation due to high collision rates on Earth
The oxygenation of Earth may have been delayed due to high late Archaean extraterrestrial impact rates, which acted as a fluctuating sink of atmospheric oxygen, according to a reassessment of past impactor fluxes and atmospheric chemistry modelling.
- S. Marchi
- , N. Drabon
- & T. Lyons
-
Article |
Sensitivity of Holocene East Antarctic productivity to subdecadal variability set by sea ice
A mid-Holocene expansion of coastal sea ice led to phytoplankton blooms’ becoming less frequent off East Antarctica, according to a suite of annually resolved physical and geochemical analyses performed on a marine sediment core.
- Katelyn M. Johnson
- , Robert M. McKay
- & Robert B. Dunbar
-
Article |
Abrupt Common Era hydroclimate shifts drive west Greenland ice cap change
Coastal west Greenland ice caps fluctuated strongly compared to the interior in response to rapid Common Era changes in snow accumulation, according to modelling of proxy records developed from a Nuussuaq Peninsula ice core covering the last 2,000 years.
- Matthew B. Osman
- , Benjamin E. Smith
- & Harald Sodemann
-
Article |
ENSO-driven coupled megadroughts in North and South America over the last millennium
Cold ENSO states can lead to the simultaneous occurrence of megadroughts in southwestern North and South America, according to a hydroclimate reconstruction of the last thousand years assimilating palaeoclimate records with climate model constraints.
- Nathan J. Steiger
- , Jason E. Smerdon
- & Arianna M. Varuolo-Clarke
-
Article |
Muted multidecadal climate variability in central Europe during cold stadial periods
Central European multidecadal climate variability was subdued during cold stadials through the last glacial cycle due to atmospheric and oceanic circulation shifts, according to almost annual-resolution terrestrial climate proxy records from varved maar lakes in Germany.
- Frank Sirocko
- , Alfredo Martínez-García
- & Gerald H. Haug
-
Article
| Open AccessArctic Ocean stratification set by sea level and freshwater inputs since the last ice age
Stratification of the central Arctic Ocean, important for sea-ice persistence, has been controlled by a balance of sea level and freshwater inputs since the last ice age, according to foraminifera-bound nitrogen isotope records that are indicative of surface-water nutrient levels covering the past 35,000 years.
- Jesse R. Farmer
- , Daniel M. Sigman
- & Gerald H. Haug
-
Article |
Eruptive activity of the Santorini Volcano controlled by sea-level rise and fall
Sea-level lowstands over the last 360,000 years strongly controlled the timing of eruptions of the Santorini Volcano, according to an analysis of tephras and sea-level records, as well as numerical modelling of the underlying magma chamber.
- Chris Satow
- , Agust Gudmundsson
- & Mark Hardiman
-
Article |
Eocene to Oligocene terrestrial Southern Hemisphere cooling caused by declining pCO2
Terrestrial Southern Hemisphere cooling through the Eocene–Oligocene transition points to decreasing atmospheric CO2 dominantly driving global change, according to biomarker records from southeast Australian coals and palaeoclimate modelling.
- Vittoria Lauretano
- , Alan T. Kennedy-Asser
- & B. David A. Naafs
-
-
Editorial |
Lessons from a hot past
Warm intervals in the geological record potentially hold the key to understanding ongoing changes in Earth’s climate. Our ability to unlock this information depends on continued technical and conceptual progress.
-
Article |
Hydrological impact of Middle Miocene Antarctic ice-free areas coupled to deep ocean temperatures
Middle Miocene deep ocean temperatures were linked to Antarctic ice-sheet extent, not volume, due to distinct vegetation–climate feedbacks, according to coupled atmosphere–ocean–vegetation general circulation modelling.
- Catherine D. Bradshaw
- , Petra M. Langebroek
- & Agatha M. de Boer
-
Article |
Abrupt Southern Great Plains thunderstorm shifts linked to glacial climate variability
Thunderstorm activity in the Southern Great Plains was closely coupled to abrupt climate shifts during the last glacial period, according to an analysis of oxygen isotopes in modern rainfall and ancient speleothems from Texas.
- Christopher R. Maupin
- , E. Brendan Roark
- & Judson W. Partin
-
Matters Arising |
Climate did not drive Common Era Maldivian sea-level lowstands
- Christopher G. Piecuch
- , Andrew C. Kemp
- & Aron J. Meltzner
-
Matters Arising |
Reply to: Climate did not drive Common Era Maldivian sea-level lowstands
- Paul S. Kench
- , Roger F. McLean
- & Keven Roy