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Updated: May 1, 2026

Laser-Induced Fluorescence Emission L.I.F.E. as Novel Non-Invasive Tool for In-Situ Measurements of Biomarkers in Cryospheric Habitats
Published on: October 26, 2019
Deep-sea temperature and ice volume changes across the Pliocene-Pleistocene climate transitions
Sindia Sosdian1, Yair Rosenthal
1Institute of Marine and Coastal Science and Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA. sindia.sosdian@anu.edu.au
Abstract:
Earth has undergone profound changes since the late Pliocene, which led to the development [approximately 2.7 million years ago (Ma)] and intensification (approximately 0.9 Ma) of large-scale Northern Hemisphere ice sheets, recorded as transitions in the benthic foraminiferal oxygen isotope (delta18Ob) record. Here we present an orbitally resolved record of deep ocean temperature derived from benthic foraminiferal magnesium/calcium ratios from the North Atlantic, which shows that temperature variations are a substantial portion of the global delta18Ob signal. The record shows two distinct cooling events associated with the late Pliocene (LPT, 2.5 to 3 Ma) and mid-Pleistocene (MPT, 1.2 to 0.85 Ma) climate transitions. Whereas the LPT increase in ice volume is attributed directly to global cooling, the shift to 100,000-year cycles at the MPT is more likely to be a response to an additional change in ice-sheet dynamics.
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