sniderman-pliocene-2016.pdf (3.16 MB)
Pliocene reversal of late Neogene aridification
journal contribution
posted on 2016-02-23, 00:00 authored by J M K Sniderman, J D Woodhead, J Hellstrom, G J Jordan, R N Drysdale, J J Tyler, Nicholas PorchNicholas PorchSignificance
The warm climates of the Pliocene epoch are considered our best analog for a future anthropogenic greenhouse world. However, understanding of the nature of Pliocene climate variability and change on land is currently limited by the poor age control of most existing terrestrial climate archives. We present a radiometrically dated history of the evolution of Southern Hemisphere vegetation and hydroclimate from the latest Miocene to the middle Pliocene. These data reveal a sharp increase in precipitation in the Early Pliocene, which drove complete vegetation turnover. The development of warm, wet early Pliocene climates clearly reversed a long-term Southern Hemisphere trend of late Neogene cooling and aridification, highlighting the question of what initiated this sustained, ∼1.5-My-long interval of warmth.
The warm climates of the Pliocene epoch are considered our best analog for a future anthropogenic greenhouse world. However, understanding of the nature of Pliocene climate variability and change on land is currently limited by the poor age control of most existing terrestrial climate archives. We present a radiometrically dated history of the evolution of Southern Hemisphere vegetation and hydroclimate from the latest Miocene to the middle Pliocene. These data reveal a sharp increase in precipitation in the Early Pliocene, which drove complete vegetation turnover. The development of warm, wet early Pliocene climates clearly reversed a long-term Southern Hemisphere trend of late Neogene cooling and aridification, highlighting the question of what initiated this sustained, ∼1.5-My-long interval of warmth.
History
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of AmericaVolume
113Issue
8Pagination
1999 - 2004Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCESLocation
United StatesPublisher DOI
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ISSN
0027-8424eISSN
1091-6490Language
EnglishPublication classification
C Journal article; C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2016, National Academy of SciencesUsage metrics
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