Effects of paleogeographic changes and CO2 variability on northern mid-latitudinal temperature gradients in the Cretaceous

Kaushal Gianchandani (), Sagi Maor, Ori Adam, Alexander Farnsworth, Hezi Gildor, Daniel J. Lunt and Nathan Paldor
Additional contact information
Kaushal Gianchandani: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram
Sagi Maor: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram
Ori Adam: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram
Alexander Farnsworth: University of Bristol
Hezi Gildor: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram
Daniel J. Lunt: University of Bristol
Nathan Paldor: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract The Cretaceous ‘greenhouse’ period (~145 to ~66 million years ago, Ma) in Earth’s history is relatively well documented by multiple paleoproxy records, which indicate that the meridional sea surface temperature (SST) gradient increased (non-monotonically) from the Valanginian (~135 Ma) to the Maastrichtian (~68 Ma). Changes in atmospheric CO2 concentration, solar constant, and paleogeography are the primary drivers of variations in the spatiotemporal distribution of SST. However, the particular contribution of each of these drivers (and their underlying mechanisms) to changes in the SST distribution remains poorly understood. Here we use data from a suite of paleoclimate simulations to compare the relative effects of atmospheric CO2 variability and paleogeographic changes on mid-latitudinal SST gradient through the Cretaceous. Further, we use a fundamental model of wind-driven ocean gyres to quantify how changes in the Northern Hemisphere paleogeography weaken the circulation in subtropical ocean gyres, leading to an increase in extratropical SSTs.

Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-40905-7 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-40905-7

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40905-7

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().