A potential feedback loop underlying glacial-interglacial cycles
Abstract The sawtooth-patterned glacial-interglacial cycles in the Earth’s atmospheric temperature are a well-known, though poorly understood phenomenon. Pinpointing the relevant mechanisms behind these cycles will not only provide insights into past climate dynamics, but also help pred...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
2021
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/132069 |
| _version_ | 1811091214689107968 |
|---|---|
| author | Weinans, Els Omta, Anne W van Voorn, George A K van Nes, Egbert H |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Weinans, Els Omta, Anne W van Voorn, George A K van Nes, Egbert H |
| author_sort | Weinans, Els |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Abstract
The sawtooth-patterned glacial-interglacial cycles in the Earth’s atmospheric temperature are a well-known, though poorly understood phenomenon. Pinpointing the relevant mechanisms behind these cycles will not only provide insights into past climate dynamics, but also help predict possible future responses of the Earth system to changing CO
$$_2$$
2
levels. Previous work on this phenomenon suggests that the most important underlying mechanisms are interactions between marine biological production, ocean circulation, temperature and dust. So far, interaction directions (i.e., what causes what) have remained elusive. In this paper, we apply Convergent Cross-Mapping (CCM) to analyze paleoclimatic and paleoceanographic records to elucidate which mechanisms proposed in the literature play an important role in glacial-interglacial cycles, and to test the directionality of interactions. We find causal links between ocean ventilation, biological productivity, benthic
$$\delta ^{18}$$
δ
18
O and dust, consistent with some but not all of the mechanisms proposed in the literature. Most importantly, we find evidence for a potential feedback loop from ocean ventilation to biological productivity to climate back to ocean ventilation. Here, we propose the hypothesis that this feedback loop of connected mechanisms could be the main driver for the glacial-interglacial cycles. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T14:58:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/132069 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T14:58:46Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publisher | Springer Berlin Heidelberg |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1320692023-03-01T20:49:53Z A potential feedback loop underlying glacial-interglacial cycles Weinans, Els Omta, Anne W van Voorn, George A K van Nes, Egbert H Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Abstract The sawtooth-patterned glacial-interglacial cycles in the Earth’s atmospheric temperature are a well-known, though poorly understood phenomenon. Pinpointing the relevant mechanisms behind these cycles will not only provide insights into past climate dynamics, but also help predict possible future responses of the Earth system to changing CO $$_2$$ 2 levels. Previous work on this phenomenon suggests that the most important underlying mechanisms are interactions between marine biological production, ocean circulation, temperature and dust. So far, interaction directions (i.e., what causes what) have remained elusive. In this paper, we apply Convergent Cross-Mapping (CCM) to analyze paleoclimatic and paleoceanographic records to elucidate which mechanisms proposed in the literature play an important role in glacial-interglacial cycles, and to test the directionality of interactions. We find causal links between ocean ventilation, biological productivity, benthic $$\delta ^{18}$$ δ 18 O and dust, consistent with some but not all of the mechanisms proposed in the literature. Most importantly, we find evidence for a potential feedback loop from ocean ventilation to biological productivity to climate back to ocean ventilation. Here, we propose the hypothesis that this feedback loop of connected mechanisms could be the main driver for the glacial-interglacial cycles. 2021-09-20T17:41:47Z 2021-09-20T17:41:47Z 2021-03-18 2021-03-21T04:28:42Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/132069 PUBLISHER_CC en https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-021-05724-w Creative Commons Attribution https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ The Author(s) application/pdf Springer Berlin Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg |
| spellingShingle | Weinans, Els Omta, Anne W van Voorn, George A K van Nes, Egbert H A potential feedback loop underlying glacial-interglacial cycles |
| title | A potential feedback loop underlying glacial-interglacial cycles |
| title_full | A potential feedback loop underlying glacial-interglacial cycles |
| title_fullStr | A potential feedback loop underlying glacial-interglacial cycles |
| title_full_unstemmed | A potential feedback loop underlying glacial-interglacial cycles |
| title_short | A potential feedback loop underlying glacial-interglacial cycles |
| title_sort | potential feedback loop underlying glacial interglacial cycles |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/132069 |
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