Onset of millennial climate variability with the intensification of Northern Hemisphere glaciation.
The Quaternary Period (the last 2.58 Ma) was characterized by the waxing and waning of large ice sheets in the Northern Hemisphere. Using sediment sequences from the Iberian Margin, we demonstrate that expansion of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets around 2.7 Ma was accompanied by the emergence of millennial climate variability (MCV) during glacial periods. The onset of MCV at ~2.7 Ma was heralded by isolated precursor events, followed by multiple millennial climate oscillations at ~2.5 Ma. These events coincided with deposition of ice-rafted detritus in the North Atlantic, suggesting a role for marine-terminating ice sheets. Once established, MCV became an intrinsic feature of glacial climates of the Quaternary. Our findings underscore the profound impact Northern Hemisphere glaciation had on climate variability across multiple time scales.
Authors
- Ana Sofia Magalhães Lopes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-1945-9368)
- Jasmin M. Link (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7816-2606)
- Maryline J. Vautravers (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2534-219X)
- Bryce Mitsunaga (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5733-6598)
- Jiawang Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1670-1536)
- Mónica Duque-Castaño (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8420-3080)
- C. Lopes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9884-5914)
- Diederik Liebrand (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6925-7889)
- William Clark
- Stefanie Kaboth‐Bahr (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4449-2938)
- Giulia Molina (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7992-8298)
- Polychronis C. Tzedakis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6072-1166)
- Jerry McManus
- Mengyao Du (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1636-9294)
- Lauren A. Haygood (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4060-0700)
- José‐Abel Flores (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1909-293X)
- Hannah L. Brooks (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3772-7372)
- Aline Mega (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9386-2261)
- C.T. Pallone (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3149-4280)
- Viviane Aline dos Santos Rocha
- Lucien Nana Yobo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5890-609X)
- Hisashi Ikeda
- Simon J Crowhurst (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2859-5301)
- Andreia Rebotim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6950-6331)
- I. Gil (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5151-2258)
- Timothy D. Herbert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1556-4290)
- Fatima F Abrantes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9110-0212)
- Raúl Trejos-Tamayo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1093-8492)
- Junichiro Kuroda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2218-4854)
- Mafalda Duarte Freitas
- Chuang Xuan
- Vasiliki Margari (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6192-4432)
- Emı́lia Salgueiro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1000-2977)
- Lélia Matos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1417-5509)
- Xiaolei Pang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4705-8763)
- Lívia G.M.S. Cordeiro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1601-8825)
- Teresa Isabel Rodrigues (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-6070-7808)
- Filipa Naughton
- Komal Verma
- James Rolfe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1991-115X)
- Dulce Oliveira
- Carlos A. Alvarez Zarikian
- Laura Martín-García
- Marion Y. Peral
- Louise F.B. Dauchy-Tric
- Sophia K.V. Hines
- David A. Hodell
- André Santana
- Saray Sanchez
- Huai-Hsuan May Huang
- Xi Chen
- Jimin Yu
- María González-Martín
- Vitor Magalhães
- Monserrat Alonso-Garcia
- Fernanda Ferreira
Publication Details
- Journal
- Apollo (University of Cambridge)
- Published
- 2026-02-05
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.17863/cam.126603
- Primary Topic
- Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00