From Greenhouse to Icehouse

Climate has changed a lot over the last 50-100 million years! Large-scale cooling at the poles and lower latitudes.

From Greenhouse to Icehouse

From Greenhouse to Icehouse

Two kinds of glaciations occur as climate cools: - relatively small mountain glaciers

- large ice sheets

From Greenhouse to Icehouse

No evidence for persistent ice on Antarctica until ~35 Mya. Greenland ice sheet began to grow between 7 and 3 Mya. Northern ice sheets developed almost 30 Myr later than Southern ones, but still a response to same cooling trend.

From Greenhouse to Icehouse

Evidence from Fossils

Evidence from Oxygen Isotopes

Perhaps the most important record of past climate from the ocean is the oxygen isotope signal.

Most oxygen occurs as the very abundant or as the much less abundant 18O isotope.

16O

isotope

Scientists refer to changes in the relative amounts of these isotopes as d18O.

8 P+ 8N

8 P+ 10 N

Oxygen-16

16O

Oxygen-18

18O

Evidence from Oxygen Isotopes

Variations in d18O are preserved in the shells of foraminifera (CaC16O3 vs CaC18O3).

Climate affects d18O through two processes.

The first is by temperature. A change of 4.2 C causes a change of 1 in the d18O value of foraminiferal calcite.

Evidence from Oxygen Isotopes

Climate affects d18O through two processes. The second way is through ice sheet growth and decay. Water (H2O) contains molecules with different oxygen combinations (H216O, H218O).

When water evaporates, the lighter isotope molecule is preferentially evaporated. When precipitation occurs, the heavier isotope preferentially condenses.

Evidence from Oxygen Isotopes

As the water vapor moves towards higher latitudes, the precipitation has less and less H218O.

Snow and ice is mostly H216O with very little H218O (which is left behind in the ocean).

Evidence from Oxygen Isotopes

A record of d18O for the last 70 Myr has been compiled from foraminifera that lived on the sea floor.

Evidence from Mg/Ca Measurements

Another valuable measure of the ocean response to climate forcing comes from analyzing the ratio of magnesium (Mg) to calcium (Ca) in the shells of foraminifera. The ratio of these two elements in the foraminifera skeleton is temperature-dependant.

Evidence from Mg/Ca Measurements

The two records are similar, but also have some differences.

Does Geography Explain the Cooling?

No!

Do Ocean Gateways Explain the Cooling?

Maybe yes, maybe no. The computer models of these events dont necessarily support the hypotheses.

However, gateway changes definitely redistribute heat and salt at high latitude sites.

Do Changes in CO2 Explain the Cooling?

Sea floor spreading slowed from 65 to 15 Mya, and could explain the cooling over that interval, but the trend since 15 Mya does not support the hypothesis.

What about Uplift Weathering?

We would need persistent uplift over the last 50 Myr to explain the cooling. If this is so

- we would expect large regions of young, high terrain.

- we would expect an increase in rock fragmentation to create the surface area necessary for chemical weathering. - we would expect an increase in chemical weathering rates over the same period.

What about Uplift Weathering?

Extensive high terrain The Tibetan plateau, Andes Mountains, and the European Alps all uplifted in the last 50 Myr.

What about Uplift Weathering?

India crashes into Asia beginning some time around 20-30 million years ago.

What about Uplift Weathering?

Increased rock fragmentation

What about Uplift Weathering?

The highest amounts of suspended sediments in rivers come rivers draining the Himalayas and the Andes.

What about Uplift Weathering?

Uplift of the Tibetan plateau created its own weather the Southeast Asian Monsoon.

Increased precipitation causes increased mechanical and chemical weathering.

What about Uplift Weathering?

Increased chemical weathering? Chemical weathering rates are difficult to determine even on regional scales, much less the entire planet. Difficult to distinguish in rivers between ions produced by weathering of silicate rocks (hydrolysis) vs carbonate rocks (dissolution).

Also impossible to study enough rivers to reach an accurate measure of global weathering.

In Summary
The cause of global cooling over the last 50 Myr remains uncertain.

It is most likely driven by a decrease in atmospheric CO2.

Not clear if the decrease was driven by decreased input tied to slowing sea floor spreading, or increased removal tied to chemical weathering. Probably some combination of the two!