Conflicting sets of hypotheses highlight either the role of ice sheets or atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) in causing the increase in duration and severity of ice age cycles ∼1 Mya during the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT). We document early MPT CO2 cycles that were smaller than during recent ice age cycles. Using model simulations, we attribute this to post-MPT increase in glacial-stage dustiness and its effect on Southern Ocean productivity. Detailed analysis reveals the importance of CO2 climate forcing as a powerful positive feedback that magnified MPT climate change originally triggered by a change in ice sheet dynamics. These findings offer insights into the close coupling of climate, oceans, and ice sheets within the Earth System.
Original Source [2]
Links:
[1] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/feature-article/causes-ice-age-intensification-across-mid-pleistocene-transition
[2] http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2017/11/21/1702143114.abstract
[3] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/author/thomas-b-chalk
[4] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/author/mathis-p-hain
[5] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/author/gavin-l-foster-et-al
[6] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/journal/proceedings-national-academy-sciences
[7] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/climate-change
[8] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/climate-science
[9] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/green-house-gases
[10] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/carbon-dioxide