Abstract
IT is well known that a significant intensification of Northern Hemisphere glaciation occurred ∼2.5 Myr ago, in contrast to the much earlier onset (∼35 Myr) of glaciation in Antarctica1–3. Much less is known about the behaviour of the climate before 2.5 Myr, and it has remained unclear when sizeable glaciers first started to develop in the Northern Hemisphere. Here we deduce the history of high-northern-latitude glaciation over the past 6 Myr from records of ice-borne deposits in deep-sea sediments of the Norwegian Sea. We find that glaciers large enough to reach sea level were present in the Norwegian Sea area as early as 5.5 Myr, three million years before the intensification of glaciation at 2.5 Myr. Fluctuations in ice volume can be deduced from the oxygen isotope record, but this provides only a global average, which may not reflect the history of ice-sheet growth in specific regions. From a comparison of the oxygen isotope records with the record of ice-rafted material, we derive an estimate of the relative contributions of Southern and Northern Hemisphere glaciation to global variations in ice volume.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Shackleton, N. J. et al. Nature 307, 620–623 (1984).
Ruddiman, W. R. & Raymo, M. E. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B318, 411–430 (1988).
Jansen, E., Bleil, U., Henrich, R., Kringstad, L. & Slettemark, B. Paleoceanography 3, 563–581 (1988).
Barron, J. et al. Nature 333, 303–304 (1988).
Eldholm, O. Proc. Init. Rep. ODP 104, 783 (1987).
Bleil, U. Proc. ODP Sci. Results 104, 829–902 (1989).
Eldholm, O. et al. Proc. Init. Rep. ODP 104, 61–82 (1987).
Eldholm, O., Thiede, J. & Taylor, E. (eds) Proc. ODP Sci. Results 104, 1141 (1989).
Krinsley, D. H. & Doornkamp, J. C. Atlas of Quartz Sand Surface Textures (Cambridge University Press, 1973).
Whalley, W. B. & Krinsley, D. H. Sedimentology 21, 87–105 (1974).
Strass, I. F. Mar. Geol. 28, 107–134 (1978).
Dowdeswell, J. A. J. sed. Petrol. 52, 1315–1323 (1982).
Jansen, E., Sjøholm, J., Bleil, U. & Erichsen, J. A. in Geologic History of the Polar Oceans—Arctic versus Antarctic (eds Bleil, U. & Thiede, J.) 677–705 (Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1990).
Goll, R. M. in Proc. ODP Sci. Results 104, 777–826 (1989).
Spiegler, D. & Jansen, E. Proc. ODP Sci. Results 104, 681–696 (1989).
Mudie, P. M. & Helgason, J. Nature 303, 689–692 (1983).
Albertsson, K. J. thesis, Cambridge Univ. (1976).
Einarsson, T. & Albertsson, K. J. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B318, 637–644 (1988).
Carter, L. D., Brigham-Grette, J., Marinkovitch, L., Pease, V. L. & Hillhouse, J. W. Geology 14, 675–678 (1986).
Funder, S., Abrahamsen, N., Bennike, O. & Feyling-Hanssen, R. W. Geology 14, 542–546 (1985).
Repenning, C. A., Brouwers, E. M., Carter, L. D., Marinkovitch, L. & Ager, T. A. US Geol. Surv. Bull. 1687, 1–30 (1987).
Cita, M. B. & McKenzie, J. A. in Mesozoic and Cenozoic Oceans Am. Geophys. Un. Geodyn. Series 15. (ed. Hsu, K. J.) 123–140 (Am. Geophys. Un., Washington, DC, 1986).
Hodell, D. A., Elmstrom, K. M. & Kennett, J. P. Nature 320, 411–414 (1986).
Hsu, K. J. et al. Init. Rep. DSDP No. 13, 1203–1231 (1973).
Keigwin, L. D. Paleoceanography 2, 639–660 (1987).
Keigwin, L. D. Init. Rep. DSDP No. 94, 911–920 (1987).
Denton, G. H., Prentice, M. L. & Burckle, L. H. in The Geology of Antarctica (ed. Tingey, R.) (Oxford University Press, 1988).
Webb, P. N. et al. Geology 12, 287–291 (1984).
Mercer, J. H. & Sutter, J. F. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 38, 185–206 (1982).
Fairbanks, R. G. & Matthews, R. K. Quat Res. 10, 181–196 (1978).
Spiegler, D. Proc. ODP Sci. Results 104, 739–744 (1989).
Henrich, R. Proc. ODP Sci. Results 104, 189–232 (1989).
Raymo, M. E., Ruddiman, W. F., Shackleton, N. J., Clement, B. M. & Martinson, D. G. Paleoceanography 4, 413–446 (1989).
Ruddiman, W. F., Raymo, M. E. & McIntyre, A. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 80, 117–129 (1986).
Ruddiman, W. F., Raymo, M. E., Martinson, D. G., Clement, B. M. & Backman, J. Paleoceanography 4, 353–412 (1989).
Graham, D. W., Corliss, B. H., Bender, M. L. & Keigwin, L. D. Mar. Micropal. 6, 483–497 (1981).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jansen, E., Sjøholm, J. Reconstruction of glaciation over the past 6 Myr from ice-borne deposits in the Norwegian Sea. Nature 349, 600–603 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1038/349600a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/349600a0
This article is cited by
-
3D sedimentary architecture showing the inception of an Ice Age
Nature Communications (2020)
-
Dynamic Greenland ice sheet driven by pCO2 variations across the Pliocene Pleistocene transition
Nature Communications (2018)
-
Buried iceberg scours reveal reduced North Atlantic Current during the stage 12 deglacial
Nature Communications (2016)
-
Sea-level and deep-sea-temperature variability over the past 5.3 million years
Nature (2014)
-
Late Miocene–early Pleistocene paleoproductivity variations of the Lop Nor in the Tarim Basin and its implications on aridification in Asian Interior
Chinese Science Bulletin (2014)
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.