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Rapid stepwise onset of Antarctic glaciation and deeper calcite compensation in the Pacific Ocean

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  • Helen K. Coxall

    (Geology and Geochemistry, University of Stockholm
    Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island
    Southampton Oceanography Centre, School of Ocean and Earth Science
    School of Earth, Ocean and Planetary Sciences, Cardiff University)

  • Paul A. Wilson

    (Southampton Oceanography Centre, School of Ocean and Earth Science)

  • Heiko Pälike

    (Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University
    Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island
    Southampton Oceanography Centre, School of Ocean and Earth Science
    School of Earth, Ocean and Planetary Sciences, Cardiff University)

  • Caroline H. Lear

    (Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island
    Southampton Oceanography Centre, School of Ocean and Earth Science
    School of Earth, Ocean and Planetary Sciences, Cardiff University)

  • Jan Backman

    (Geology and Geochemistry, University of Stockholm)

Abstract

The ocean depth at which the rate of calcium carbonate input from surface waters equals the rate of dissolution is termed the calcite compensation depth. At present, this depth is ∼4,500 m, with some variation between and within ocean basins. The calcite compensation depth is linked to ocean acidity, which is in turn linked to atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and hence global climate1. Geological records of changes in the calcite compensation depth show a prominent deepening of more than 1 km near the Eocene/Oligocene boundary (∼ 34 million years ago)2 when significant permanent ice sheets first appeared on Antarctica3,4,5,6, but the relationship between these two events is poorly understood. Here we present ocean sediment records of calcium carbonate content as well as carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions from the tropical Pacific Ocean that cover the Eocene/Oligocene boundary. We find that the deepening of the calcite compensation depth was more rapid than previously documented and occurred in two jumps of about 40,000 years each, synchronous with the stepwise onset of Antarctic ice-sheet growth. The glaciation was initiated, after climatic preconditioning7, by an interval when the Earth's orbit of the Sun favoured cool summers. The changes in oxygen-isotope composition across the Eocene/Oligocene boundary are too large to be explained by Antarctic ice-sheet growth alone and must therefore also indicate contemporaneous global cooling and/or Northern Hemisphere glaciation.

Suggested Citation

  • Helen K. Coxall & Paul A. Wilson & Heiko Pälike & Caroline H. Lear & Jan Backman, 2005. "Rapid stepwise onset of Antarctic glaciation and deeper calcite compensation in the Pacific Ocean," Nature, Nature, vol. 433(7021), pages 53-57, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:433:y:2005:i:7021:d:10.1038_nature03135
    DOI: 10.1038/nature03135
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    Cited by:

    1. Marcelo A. De Lira Mota & Tom Dunkley Jones & Nursufiah Sulaiman & Kirsty M. Edgar & Tatsuhiko Yamaguchi & Melanie J. Leng & Markus Adloff & Sarah E. Greene & Richard Norris & Bridget Warren & Grace D, 2023. "Multi-proxy evidence for sea level fall at the onset of the Eocene-Oligocene transition," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-13, December.
    2. Qi Li & Amit Kumar & Zhenwei Song & Qiang Gao & Yakov Kuzyakov & Jing Tian & Fusuo Zhang, 2023. "Altered Organic Matter Chemical Functional Groups and Bacterial Community Composition Promote Crop Yield under Integrated Soil–Crop Management System," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-20, January.
    3. Jan Audun Rasmussen & Nicolas Thibault & Christian Rasmussen, 2021. "Middle Ordovician astrochronology decouples asteroid breakup from glacially-induced biotic radiations," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-14, December.

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