Revisiting the mid-Pleistocene transition ocean circulation crisis

The mid-Pleistocene transition (MPT) [~1.25 to 0.85 million years ago (Ma)] marks a shift in the character of glacial-interglacial climate (<i>1</i>, <i>2</i>). One prevailing hypothesis for the origin of the MPT is that glacial deep ocean circulation fundamentally changed, marked by a circulation "crisis" at ~0.90 Ma (marine isotope stages 24 to 22) (<i>3</i>). Using high-resolution paired neodymium, carbon, and oxygen isotope data from the South Atlantic Ocean (Cape Basin) across the MPT, we find no evidence of a substantial change in deep ocean circulation. Before and during the early MPT (~1.30 to 1.12 Ma), the glacial deep ocean variability closely resembled that of the most recent glacial cycle. The carbon storage facilitated by developing deep ocean stratification across the MPT required only modest circulation adjustments.

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Publication Details

Journal
Science
Published
2024-11-07
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adn4154
Citations
10
Primary Topic
Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
3.76

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article

Revisiting the mid-Pleistocene transition ocean circulation crisis

S. L. Goldstein, Mollie Passacantando, S.K.V. Hines, Aidan Starr et al.
10 citations
Science
Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
3.76
article

Revisiting the mid-Pleistocene transition ocean circulation crisis

S. L. Goldstein, Mollie Passacantando, S.K.V. Hines, Aidan Starr, I.R. Hall, Louise Bolge, Sidney R. Hemming, N. Lathika, C.D. Charles
article en
10 citations

Abstract

The mid-Pleistocene transition (MPT) [~1.25 to 0.85 million years ago (Ma)] marks a shift in the character of glacial-interglacial climate (<i>1</i>, <i>2</i>). One prevailing hypothesis for the origin of the MPT is that glacial deep ocean circulation fundamentally changed, marked by a circulation "crisis" at ~0.90 Ma (marine isotope stages 24 to 22) (<i>3</i>). Using high-resolution paired neodymium, carbon, and oxygen isotope data from the South Atlantic Ocean (Cape Basin) across the MPT, we find no evidence of a substantial change in deep ocean circulation. Before and during the early MPT (~1.30 to 1.12 Ma), the glacial deep ocean variability closely resembled that of the most recent glacial cycle. The carbon storage facilitated by developing deep ocean stratification across the MPT required only modest circulation adjustments.

ScienceVol. 386(6722)
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US), Scripps Institution of Oceanography (US), Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (US), University of Rhode Island (US), University of Cambridge (GB), Ministry of Earth Sciences (IN), Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (US), Columbia University (US), Cardiff University (GB)
National Science Foundation, Sight Research UK, Natural Environment Research Council
Life below water
Openalex Percentile: Top 6%
Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
3.76
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