Late Pliocene-early Pleistocene 100-ka problem
Document Type
Article
Date of Original Version
11-16-2008
Abstract
Little is known about the 100-ka ice volume cycles immediately before 1 Ma except that they are coherent with the 100-ka eccentricity cycles. Here we show that ice volume and ocean circulation change/global carbon mass balance are phase-locked and highly coupled regarding amplitude envelopes at the 100-ka band, but neither is phase-locked to and amplitude-coupled to the 100-ka eccentricity orbital forcing signal between 3-1 Ma. We describe this phasing and amplitude mismatch at the 100-ka band between 3-1 Ma between eccentricity forcing and paleo-ice volume records as the "late Pliocene-early Pleistocene 100-ka problem." A free 100-ka oscillation internal to our climate system, especially those related to oscillations of atmospheric CO2 concentration, operating on an Earth characterized by a high-inertia deep thermohaline ocean that can store carbon and heat, might hold the key for the "late Pliocene-early Pleistocene 100-ka problem." Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union.
Publication Title, e.g., Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Volume
35
Issue
21
Citation/Publisher Attribution
Nie, Junsheng, John King, and Xiaomin Fang. "Late Pliocene-early Pleistocene 100-ka problem." Geophysical Research Letters 35, 21 (2008). doi: 10.1029/2008GL035265.