Mid-Miocene cooling and the extinction of tundra in continental Antarctica

Adam R. Lewis; David R. Marchant; Allan C. Ashworth; Lars Hedenäs; Sidney R. Hemming; Jesse V. Johnson; Melanie J. Leng; Malka L. Machlus; Angela E. Newton; J. Ian Raine; Jane K. Willenbring; Mark Williams; Alexander P. Wolfe

doi:10.1073/pnas.0802501105

Mid-Miocene cooling and the extinction of tundra in continental Antarctica

Adam R. Lewis, David R. Marchant, Allan C. Ashworth, Lars Hedenäs, Sidney R. Hemming, Jesse V. Johnson, Melanie J. Leng, Malka L. Machlus, Angela E. Newton, J. Ian Raine, Jane K. Willenbring, Mark Williams, Alexander P. Wolfe

Computer Science

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253 Scopus citations

Abstract

A major obstacle in understanding the evolution of Cenozoic climate has been the lack of well dated terrestrial evidence from high-latitude, glaciated regions. Here, we report the discovery of exceptionally well preserved fossils of lacustrine and terrestrial organisms from the McMurdo Dry Valleys sector of the Transantarctic Mountains for which we have established a precise radiometric chronology. The fossils, which include diatoms, palynomorphs, mosses, ostracodes, and insects, represent the last vestige of a tundra community that inhabited the mountains before stepped cooling that first brought a full polar climate to Antarctica. Paleoecological analyses, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar analyses of associated ash fall, and climate inferences from glaciological modeling together suggest that mean summer temperatures in the region cooled by at least 8°C between 14.07 ± 0.05 Ma and 13.85 ± 0.03 Ma. These results provide novel constraints for the timing and amplitude of middle-Miocene cooling in Antarctica and reveal the ecological legacy of this global climate transition.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	10676-10680
Number of pages	5
Journal	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume	105
Issue number	31
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0802501105
State	Published - Aug 5 2008

Funding

Funders	Funder number
Natural Environment Research Council	nigl010001, bgs04003

Keywords

Climate change
Diatoms
Dry valleys
Ostracods
Tundra biota

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1073/pnas.0802501105

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Lewis, A. R., Marchant, D. R., Ashworth, A. C., Hedenäs, L., Hemming, S. R., Johnson, J. V., Leng, M. J., Machlus, M. L., Newton, A. E., Raine, J. I., Willenbring, J. K., Williams, M., & Wolfe, A. P. (2008). Mid-Miocene cooling and the extinction of tundra in continental Antarctica. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 105(31), 10676-10680. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0802501105

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abstract = "A major obstacle in understanding the evolution of Cenozoic climate has been the lack of well dated terrestrial evidence from high-latitude, glaciated regions. Here, we report the discovery of exceptionally well preserved fossils of lacustrine and terrestrial organisms from the McMurdo Dry Valleys sector of the Transantarctic Mountains for which we have established a precise radiometric chronology. The fossils, which include diatoms, palynomorphs, mosses, ostracodes, and insects, represent the last vestige of a tundra community that inhabited the mountains before stepped cooling that first brought a full polar climate to Antarctica. Paleoecological analyses, 40Ar/39Ar analyses of associated ash fall, and climate inferences from glaciological modeling together suggest that mean summer temperatures in the region cooled by at least 8°C between 14.07 ± 0.05 Ma and 13.85 ± 0.03 Ma. These results provide novel constraints for the timing and amplitude of middle-Miocene cooling in Antarctica and reveal the ecological legacy of this global climate transition.",

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author = "Lewis, {Adam R.} and Marchant, {David R.} and Ashworth, {Allan C.} and Lars Heden{\"a}s and Hemming, {Sidney R.} and Johnson, {Jesse V.} and Leng, {Melanie J.} and Machlus, {Malka L.} and Newton, {Angela E.} and Raine, {J. Ian} and Willenbring, {Jane K.} and Mark Williams and Wolfe, {Alexander P.}",

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Lewis, AR, Marchant, DR, Ashworth, AC, Hedenäs, L, Hemming, SR, Johnson, JV, Leng, MJ, Machlus, ML, Newton, AE, Raine, JI, Willenbring, JK, Williams, M & Wolfe, AP 2008, 'Mid-Miocene cooling and the extinction of tundra in continental Antarctica', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 105, no. 31, pp. 10676-10680. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0802501105

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AU - Marchant, David R.

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AU - Hedenäs, Lars

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AU - Johnson, Jesse V.

AU - Leng, Melanie J.

AU - Machlus, Malka L.

AU - Newton, Angela E.

AU - Raine, J. Ian

AU - Willenbring, Jane K.

AU - Williams, Mark

AU - Wolfe, Alexander P.

PY - 2008/8/5

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N2 - A major obstacle in understanding the evolution of Cenozoic climate has been the lack of well dated terrestrial evidence from high-latitude, glaciated regions. Here, we report the discovery of exceptionally well preserved fossils of lacustrine and terrestrial organisms from the McMurdo Dry Valleys sector of the Transantarctic Mountains for which we have established a precise radiometric chronology. The fossils, which include diatoms, palynomorphs, mosses, ostracodes, and insects, represent the last vestige of a tundra community that inhabited the mountains before stepped cooling that first brought a full polar climate to Antarctica. Paleoecological analyses, 40Ar/39Ar analyses of associated ash fall, and climate inferences from glaciological modeling together suggest that mean summer temperatures in the region cooled by at least 8°C between 14.07 ± 0.05 Ma and 13.85 ± 0.03 Ma. These results provide novel constraints for the timing and amplitude of middle-Miocene cooling in Antarctica and reveal the ecological legacy of this global climate transition.

AB - A major obstacle in understanding the evolution of Cenozoic climate has been the lack of well dated terrestrial evidence from high-latitude, glaciated regions. Here, we report the discovery of exceptionally well preserved fossils of lacustrine and terrestrial organisms from the McMurdo Dry Valleys sector of the Transantarctic Mountains for which we have established a precise radiometric chronology. The fossils, which include diatoms, palynomorphs, mosses, ostracodes, and insects, represent the last vestige of a tundra community that inhabited the mountains before stepped cooling that first brought a full polar climate to Antarctica. Paleoecological analyses, 40Ar/39Ar analyses of associated ash fall, and climate inferences from glaciological modeling together suggest that mean summer temperatures in the region cooled by at least 8°C between 14.07 ± 0.05 Ma and 13.85 ± 0.03 Ma. These results provide novel constraints for the timing and amplitude of middle-Miocene cooling in Antarctica and reveal the ecological legacy of this global climate transition.

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KW - Ostracods

KW - Tundra biota

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Mid-Miocene cooling and the extinction of tundra in continental Antarctica

Abstract

Funding

Keywords

UN SDGs

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