Pliocene cooling enhanced by flow of low-salinity Bering Sea water to the Arctic Ocean

Keiji Horikawa (), Ellen E. Martin, Chandranath Basak, Jonaotaro Onodera, Osamu Seki, Tatsuhiko Sakamoto, Minoru Ikehara, Saburo Sakai and Kimitaka Kawamura
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Keiji Horikawa: University of Florida
Ellen E. Martin: University of Florida
Chandranath Basak: University of Florida
Jonaotaro Onodera: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
Osamu Seki: Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University
Tatsuhiko Sakamoto: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
Minoru Ikehara: Center for Advanced Marine Core Research, Kochi University
Saburo Sakai: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
Kimitaka Kawamura: Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University

Nature Communications, 2015, vol. 6, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Warming of high northern latitudes in the Pliocene (5.33–2.58 Myr ago) has been linked to the closure of the Central American Seaway and intensification of North Atlantic Deep Water. Subsequent cooling in the late Pliocene may be related to the effects of freshwater input from the Arctic Ocean via the Bering Strait, disrupting North Atlantic Deep Water formation and enhancing sea ice formation. However, the timing of Arctic freshening has not been defined. Here we present neodymium and lead isotope records of detrital sediment from the Bering Sea for the past 4.3 million years. Isotopic data suggest the presence of Alaskan glaciers as far back as 4.2 Myr ago, while diatom and C37:4 alkenone records show a long-term trend towards colder and fresher water in the Bering Sea beginning with the M2 glaciation (3.3 Myr ago). We argue that the introduction of low-salinity Bering Sea water to the Arctic Ocean by 3.3 Myr ago preconditioned the climate system for global cooling.

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms8587

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