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Mediterranean isolation preconditioning the Earth System for late Miocene climate cooling
Walter Capella1,2, Rachel Flecker3, F Javier Hernández-Molina4
1Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands. wcap41@gmail.com.
Scientific Reports
|March 9, 2019
Summary
The Miocene restriction of the Atlantic-Mediterranean gateway initiated a saline plume, enhancing ocean-atmosphere carbon exchange and preconditioning Earth for Neogene cooling. This gateway evolution is key to understanding global climate shifts.
Area of Science:
- Paleoceanography
- Climate Science
- Geology
Background:
- A global Neogene cooling trend occurred, culminating in Greenland glaciation around 7 million years ago.
- Ocean-atmosphere interactions and circulation changes are implicated in reorganizing late Miocene climate patterns, but their drivers remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the evolution of the Atlantic-Mediterranean gateway and its role in initiating Mediterranean overflow.
- To identify the drivers behind the reorganization of global temperature and precipitation patterns during the late Miocene.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing sedimentary and paleogeographic evidence to reconstruct the timing and dimensions of the Atlantic-Mediterranean gateway.
- Documenting the initiation of a saline water plume in the North Atlantic.
Main Results:
- The study reveals the emergence of a saline jet in the North Atlantic concurrent with the restriction of the Atlantic-Mediterranean gateway during the Miocene.
- This saline jet entrains and transports Eastern North Atlantic water and dissolved inorganic carbon into the ocean interior.
Conclusions:
- The Miocene gateway restriction and subsequent saline plume formation significantly enhanced ocean-atmosphere exchange.
- This process likely preconditioned the Earth System for the late Miocene cooling event and Greenland glaciation.
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