温盐环流反转及其对新生代气候的影响

温盐环流是由海水温度、盐度差异驱动的全球洋流循环系统。在气候系统中,它对全球热量输送起到了十分重要的作用。在亚轨道尺度(千年时间尺度)上,温盐环流的改变导致了一系列快速的气候变化,因此备受关注。在构造时间尺度(百万年时间尺度)上,古海洋记录和数值模拟揭示出,温盐环流的反转对新生代气候也产生了非常显著的影响。在新生代,温盐环流由“南大洋深层水主控型”向“北大西洋深层水主控型”反转。这一反转改变了全球的热量输送,使得南半球强烈变冷,并有可能导致南极东部永久冰盖的形成。在这一反转事件中,热带海道的作用更加重要。     

Quantitative reconstruction of Early Pleistocene climate in southeastern Australia and implications for atmospheric circulation

Today, southeastern Australia experiences a winter-dominated rainfall regime, governed by the seasonal migration of the highly zonal Southern Hemisphere subtropical anticyclone. The late Cenozoic history of this rainfall regime is poorly understood, but it has been widely accepted that its onset was a product of the intensification and northward migration of the subtropical anticyclone, driven by steepening of hemispheric temperature gradients associated with the initiation of extensive Northern Hemisphere glaciation, ～2.6 million years ago (Ma). Here, we use fossil beetle remains from Stony Creek Basin, a small palaeolake record in upland southeastern Australia deposited over ～280,000 years between ～1.84 and 1.56 Ma, to quantitatively reconstruct regional climate during the Early Pleistocene. Climate reconstructions based on coexistence of extant beetle taxa indicate that temperatures were consistently 1–3 °C warmer than present, and rainfall as high as or substantially higher than today, throughout the record. In particular, beetle data indicate that rainfall was similar to today during winter, but 2–2.4 times higher than today during summer. This is consistent with the presence of diverse rainforest pollen also present in the record, and indicates that the modern, winter-dominated rainfall regime was not yet in place by ～1.5 Ma, at least one million years later than previously thought. We suggest that the Southern Hemisphere anticyclonic circulation must have been much less intense during the Early Pleistocene than today, rather than shifted meridionally as previously argued.     

Evaluation of the impact of oceanic heat transport in the North Atlantic and Barents sea on the Northern Hemispheric climate

In this work, we evaluate the impact of terminated oceanic heat flux in the North Atlantic and Barents Sea on the Northern Hemisphere climate in January by numerical experiments with a coupled model of atmospheric general circulation and a thermodynamic model of the upper mixed layer of the ocean. We analyze the variations in the atmospheric circulation and near-surface temperature. We found that the termi-nation of the oceanic heat flux leads to a depression in atmospheric centers of action in the Northern Hemi-sphere (by 3?C5 hPa) and a significant cooling over the continents with the strongest temperature decrease down to ?10°C in northwestern Eurasia.     

Liassic age of an oceanic gabbro of the External Rif (Morocco): Implications for the Jurassic continent–ocean boundary of Northwest Africa

This work concerns the northernmost limit of the West African Craton (WAC) and Variscan WAC-related terranes of NW Africa. Based on newly obtained radiometric age of an oceanic gabbro from the “Mesorif Suture Zone” of the External Rif Belt, we propose a revised interpretation of this puzzling lineament. We report on a 190 ± 2 Ma LA–ICP–MS U–Pb zircon age of a trondhjemite vein cross-cutting the Bou Adel gabbro, which is one of the largest oceanic units of the quoted suture zone. We previously interpreted the arcuate MSZ in terms of transported, hyper-extended margin of the Alpine Tethys, based on a K–Ar 166 ± 3 Ma age ascribed to the Bou Adel gabbro in the literature. The new, Early/Middle Liassic age coincides instead with the onset of oceanic floor formation in the Central Atlantic. We hypothesize that the Mesorif suture zone corresponds to the transported trace of the West African Atlantic margin surrounding the northwestern Moroccan Meseta promontory and connecting with the ENE-trending North African Transform North African transform. The latter zone sharply bounded the North Africa margin and connected the Central Atlantic with the Alpine Tethys. We propose that transported elements from the North African transform constitute the “Mesorif Basalt–Breccias” lineament parallel to and more external than the Mesorif suture zone. If correct, this new interpretation provides an opportunity to develop detailed field and laboratory studies of an exhumed segment of the up-to-now conceptual Jurassic North African transform.     

The key role of global solid‐Earth processes in preconditioning Greenland's glaciation since the Pliocene

After >500 Ma of absence, major Northern Hemisphere glaciations appeared during the Plio‐Pleistocene, with Greenland leading other northern areas. Here, we propose that three major solid‐Earth processes underpinned build‐up of the Greenland ice‐sheet. First, a mantle‐plume pulse, responsible for the North Atlantic Igneous Province at ~60 Ma, regionally thinned the lithosphere. Younger plume pulses led to uplift, which accelerated at ~5 Ma, lifting the parts of the East Greenland margin closest to Iceland to elevations of more than 3 km above sea level. Second, plate‐tectonic reconstruction shows a ~6° northward component of Greenland motion relative to the mantle since ~60 Ma. Third, a concurrent northward rotation of the entire mantle and crust towards the pole, dubbed True Polar Wander (TPW), contributed an additional ~12° change in latitude. These global geodynamic processes preconditioned Greenland to sustain long‐term glaciation, emphasizing the role of solid‐Earth processes in driving long‐term global climatic transitions.     

Phanerozic bauxite epochs

The Early Cambrian, Middle and Late Devonian, Middle and Late Carboniferous, Permian, Late Triassic-Early Jurassic, Late Cretaceous, Paleocene-Eocene, and Miocene epochs of bauxite formation have been the most productive. They lasted for no less than 10 Ma. The scope of bauxite deposition of various epochs is shown in the diagram, and the present-day localization of Cenozoic, Mesozoic, and Paleozoic bauxites is depicted in separate maps. The Cenozoic bauxite deposits are located in tropical and subtropical zones of the Southern and Northern hemispheres. The Mesozoic deposits occur in the Northern Hemisphere as far north as 50°N, and the Paleozoic deposits, as far north as 70°N. Palinspastic reconstructions show that during all the aforementioned epochs, bauxites were deposited at paleotropical latitudes. The current localization of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic bauxites at high latitudes up to the Polar Circle is caused by continental drift to the north in the Phanerozoic.     

Cenozoic paleo-environmental evolution of the Pamir–Tien Shan convergence zone

The retreat of the Tethys Sea and the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau play the critical roles in driving Asian climatic changes during the Cenozoic. In the Pamir–Tien Shan convergence zone, over 3000 m of Cenozoic successions, consisting of marine deposits in the lower, continental clay and fine sand in the middle, and molasse in the upper part, record the evolution of the Tethys Sea, the Asian aridification, and the deformation of the Pamir. In this work, the existing biostratigraphic subdivisions and new electronic spinning resonance dating results were used to assign ages to formations within the Ulugqat section. Sedimentary facies analysis and multi-proxy indices were used to reconstruct the paleo-environmental evolution. The results show: (1) the Pamir–Tien Shan convergence zone has undergone progressive environmental changes from shallow marine before ∼34 Ma to arid land at ∼23 Ma and finally to inter-mountain basin by ∼5.3 Ma; (2) the overall increase in mean size of grains, decrease in redness, in magnetic susceptibility, and in proportion of the ultrafine component of the sediments studied revealed a long-term strengthening in potential energy to transporting medium, cooling, and enhanced continental aridity, respectively; (3) the easternmost edge of the Tethys Sea prevailed in the western Tarim Basin from late Cretaceous to early Cenozoic, and finally retreated from this region around the Eocene–Oligocene transition, which in turn strengthened the Asian aridification; (4) accumulation of molasse with an upper age of ∼1 Ma suggests that the deformation front of the Pamir migrated to this area at or before that time.     

The Oligo-/Miocene Qom Formation (Iran): evidence for an early Burdigalian restriction of the Tethyan Seaway and closure of its Iranian gateways

In the central Iranian Esfahan-Sirjan and Qom basins sedimentation of the Oligo-/Miocene Qom Formation took place on extensive mixed carbonate–siliciclastic ramps. During this time, both basins were positioned at the Eurasian margin of the Tethyan Seaway, which connected the western and eastern regions of the Tethys Ocean at least until the late Burdigalian. During the so-called Terminal Tethyan Event the Tethyan Seaway was then closed due to the collision of the African/Arabian and Iranian/Eurasian plates. Facies analysis of the sedimentary record of both basins indicates paleoenvironments ranging from terrestrial to open marine settings, including mangrove, restricted inner shelf lagoon, seagrass meadow, reefal, and deeper offshore environments. Recognition of eight depositional sequences and elaboration of an integrated biostratigraphic framework (calcareous nannoplankton, planktic and larger benthic foraminifers, gastropods, and pectinids) allow us to construct a basin-spanning stratigraphy. The assignment of the recognized sea-level lowstands to the Ru 3 to Bur 3 lowstands of the global sea-level curve enables a comparison with time-equivalent sections from the Zagros Basin, which was part of the African/Arabian Plate on the opposing southern margin of the Tethyan Seaway. The so calibrated sections display restrictions of the Tethyan Seaway and interruption of the south Iranian gateways between the Qom Basin and the Proto-Indopacific in relation to ongoing plate collision during the early Burdigalian.     

Mantle resistance against Gibraltar slab dragging as a key cause of the Messinian Salinity Crisis

The Messinian Salinity Crisis (5.97–5.33 Ma) was caused by the closure of the Atlantic‐Mediterranean gateways that cut through the Gibraltar orogenic system. The geodynamic drivers underlying gateway closure and re‐opening are still debated. Here, we interrogate the gateway successions to find the imprints of surface deformation, infer the timing and nature of associated geodynamic drivers, and test such inferences against numerical simulations of slab dynamics. We find that since the latest Miocene, a tectonic framework was established in the gateway region dominated simultaneously by (a) relative plate convergence, (b) slab tearing under the eastern Betic Cordillera and (c) mantle resistance against north‐northeastward dragging of the Gibraltar slab by the African plate's absolute motion. We propose that mantle‐resisted slab dragging and slab tearing operated in concert closing the gateways that caused the Messinian Salinity Crisis, whereas sinking of heavy oceanic lithosphere located between buoyant continental plates re‐opened the Strait of Gibraltar at 5.33 Ma.     

A new Late Miocene chondrichthyan assemblage from the Chagres Formation,Panama

The lLate Miocene Chagres Formation from northern Panama contains the youngest outcrops of the Panama Canal Basin. Here we report two chondrichthyan assemblages that include 30 taxa from both the Rio Indio and Chagres Sandstone Members of the Chagres Formation. We report 18 new fossil records for Panama and four for tropical America, constituting the most diverse chondrichthyan association for the Cenozoic of Panama. We performed a paleobathymetry analysis based on the modern water depth preference of extant chondrichthyan taxa. The assemblage from the Rio Indio Member is characterized by taxa with neritic affinities, suggesting depths <100 m, whereas the assemblage from the Chagres Sandstone Member is dominated by taxa with oceanic affinities, suggesting 200–300 m water depths. The Chagres Sandstone Member could have accumulated at the edge of a platform–upper slope, bordered by a deep oceanic margin.     

新生代古海洋Nd同位素演化及其古环境意义

本文对当前在新生代古海洋Nd同位素演化及其古环境意义研究方面的最新成果进行了简明的阐述，说明在巴拿马海峡于5－3Ma关闭前后，太平洋和大西洋洋流的变化与其海水Nd同位素的变化相对应。但同期的印度洋Nd同位素没有明显变化，其原因需要进一步研究。     

Response of precipitation over Greenland and the adjacent ocean to North Pacific warm spells during Dansgaard–Oeschger stadials

ABSTRACT Palaeoceanographic reconstructions from the North Atlantic indicate massive ice breakouts from East Greenland near the onset of cold Dansgaard–Oeschger (D–O) stadials. In contrast to these coolings in the North Atlantic area, a new sea-surface temperature record reveals concomitant warm spells in the northern North Pacific. A sensitivity experiment with an atmospheric general circulation model is used to test the potential impact of sea-surface warmings by 3.5 °C in the North Pacific, on top of otherwise cold stadial climate conditions, on the precipitation regime over the Northern Hemisphere ice sheets. The model predicts a maximum response over East Greenland and the Greenland Sea, where a 40% increase in net annual snow accumulation occurs. This remote effect of North Pacific warm spells on the East Greenland snow-accumulation rate may play an important role in generating D–O cycles by rebuilding the ice lost during ice breakouts. In addition, the increased precipitation over the Greenland Sea may help to sustain the D–O stadial climate state.     

Global Miocene tectonics and the modern world

An amazing congruence of seemingly unrelated, diverse global events began in the Middle and Upper Miocene and established our modern world. Two global orogenic belts were active, mostly in the Middle and Upper Miocene, while backarc basins formed along the eastern margin of Asia. Coincident with these events global temperatures cooled in both the ocean and atmosphere, desertification occurred from Central Asia into and across most of northern Africa and also in Australia, and in southern South America. Coincident with the expansion of the Antarctic ice cap at 14 Ma, there was initial widespread deep sea erosion and changes in patterns of deep sea sedimentation. Muddy pelagic sedimentation increased six-fold in the North and Central Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and global changes in circulation lead to more diatomites in the Pacific and fewer in the Atlantic. By the end of the Miocene most of the Mediterranean Sea had evaporated. Broadly coincident with these events, many old, large river systems were destroyed and new ones formed as much of the world's landscape changed. Collectively, these global on-shore tectonic and ocean-atmospheric events provide the foundation for our modern world—a mixture of new and rejuvenated orogenic belts and their far-field effects (distant epiorogenic uplift, rain-shadow deserts, large alluvial aprons, and distant deltas) as inherited Gondwanan landscapes persisted remote from plate boundaries. Thus at the end of the Miocene much of the world's landscape, except for that changed by Pleistocene continental glaciation, would be recognizable to us today.We argue that all of these events had the same ultimate common cause-an internal Earth engine-that drove plate motions in two broad ways: first, the opening and closing of seven key gateways to deep-water oceanic currents radically altered global heat transfer and changed a lingering Greenhouse to an Icehouse world; secondly, these events were in part coincident with renewed heat flow in the African and Pacific Superplumes that energized global plate motions in the Middle and Upper Miocene. We hope this global synthesis will stimulate more research on the many global events of the Miocene—to understand better both our modern world and earlier global orogenies.     

Evolution of neodymium isotopic signature of seawater during the Late Cretaceous: Implications for intermediate and deep circulation

Neodymium isotopic compositions (ε_Nd) have been largely used for the last fifty years as a tracer of past ocean circulation, and more intensively during the last decade to investigate ocean circulation during the Cretaceous period. Despite a growing set of data, circulation patterns still remain unclear during this period. In particular, the identification of the deep-water masses and their spatial extension within the different oceanic basins are poorly constrained. In this study we present new deep-water ε_Nd data inferred from the Nd isotope composition of fish remains and Fe–Mn oxyhydroxide coatings on foraminifera tests, along with new ε_Nd data of residual (partly detrital) fraction recovered from DSDP Sites 152 (Nicaraguan Rise), 258 (Naturaliste Plateau), 323 (Bellinghausen Abyssal Plain), and ODP Sites 690 (Maud Rise) and 700 (East Georgia Basin, South Atlantic). The presence of abundant authigenic minerals in the sediments at Sites 152 and 690 detected by XRD analyses may explain both middle rare earth element enrichments in the spectra of the residual fraction and the evolution of residual fraction ε_Nd that mirror that of the bottom waters at the two sites. The results point towards a close correspondence between the bottom water ε_Nd values of Sites 258 and 700 from the late Turonian to the Santonian. Since the deep-water Nd isotope values at these two sites are also similar to those at other proto-Indian sites, we propose the existence of a common intermediate to deep-water mass as early as the mid-Cretaceous. The water mass would have extended from the central part of the South Atlantic to the eastern part of proto-Indian ocean sites, beyond the Kerguelen Plateau. Furthermore, data from south and north of the Rio Grande Rise–Walvis Ridge complex (Sites 700 and 530) are indistinguishable from the Turonian to Campanian, suggesting a common water mass since the Turonian at least. This view is supported by a reconstruction of the Rio Grande Rise–Walvis Ridge complex during the Turonian, highlighting the likely existence of a deep breach between the Rio Grande Rise and the proto-Walvis Ridge at that time. Thus deep-water circulation may have been possible between the different austral basins as early as the Turonian, despite the presence of potential oceanic barriers. Comparison of new seawater and residue ε_Nd data on Nicaraguan Rise suggests a westward circulation of intermediate waters through the Caribbean Seaway during the Maastrichtian and Palaeocene from the North Atlantic to the Pacific. This westward circulation reduced the Pacific water influence in the Atlantic, and was likely responsible for more uniform, less radiogenic ε_Nd values in the North Atlantic after 80 Ma. Additionally, our data document an increasing trend observed in several oceanic basins during the Maastrichtian and the Palaeocene, which is more pronounced in the North Pacific. Although the origin of this increase still remains unclear, it might be explained by an increase in the contribution of radiogenic material to upper ocean waters in the northern Pacific. By sinking to depth, these waters may have redistributed to some extent more radiogenic signatures to other ocean basins through deep-water exchanges.     

Late Neogene evolution of paleoclimate and paleoceanic circulation in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres - A comparison

Oxygen isotopes and clay minerals, grain size, and accumulation rates of terrigenous (i. e., mainly eolian) sediments from northeast Atlantic DSDP-Sites 141, 366, 397 and 544B and from southwest Pacific DSDP-Sites 588, 590 and 591 were used to assess parallelisms and differences in the evolution of paleoclimate and paleoceanic circulation in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres during the last 7 Ma. Concomitant with the Messinian cooling event, both northwest African and Australian deserts expanded, as defined by increased supply of illite and increased accumulation rates of terrigenous matter. After an early Pliocene phase of more humid climatic conditions in Australia, as well as in northwest Africa, the accumulation rates of terrigenous sediments distinctly increased in the Southwest Pacific at about 4 Ma, whereas the northeast Atlantic Sites were still characterized by low terrigenous sediment supply until 3.2 Ma. Coincident with the build-up of major Arctic ice sheets during the last 3 Ma, increased aridity and enhanced atmospheric and oceanic circulation in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres were inferred from distinct changes in the terrigenous sediment supply and a coarsening of both bulk and terrigenous sediment fractions.     

Atmospheric circulation patterns during glacial inception: A possible candidate

Models of atmospheric circulation in the North Atlantic sector during glacial inception can be expanded to a hemispheric scale with the aid of diagnostic studies of the present climate. The present “Greenland Above” (GA) atmospheric circulation type may be a candidate for the atmospheric circulation type required during glacial inception. The pattern is an amplification, with only minor phase shifts, of the present average winter circulation pattern in the extratropical Northern Hemisphere. Southerly flow in the northwest Atlantic is associated with warm ocean temperatures, low sea ice in the Davis Strait, and increased precipitation over northeast Canada. Evidence from modeling of the present climate indicates that the GA pattern could be maintained by increased snow cover over eastern North America. Enhanced snow cover, due to decreased Northern Hemisphere summer insolation, could cause a similar response on an ice-age time scale.     

Distinct climate change synchronous with Heinrich event one, recorded by stable oxygen and carbon isotopic compositions in stalagmites from China

Uranium-series dating of oxygen and carbon isotope records for stalagmite SJ3 collected in Songjia Cave, central China, shows significant variation in past climate and environment during the period 20-10 ka. Stalagmite SJ3 is located more than 1000 km inland of the coastal Hulu Cave in East China and more than 700 km north of the Dongge Cave in Southwest China and, despite minor differences, displays a clear first-order similarity with the Hulu and Dongge records. The coldest climatic phase since the Last Glacial Maximum, which is associated with the Heinrich Event 1 in the North Atlantic region, was clearly recorded in SJ3 between 17.6 and 14.5 ka, in good agreement in timing, duration and extent with the records from Hulu and Dongge caves and the Greenland ice core. The results indicate that there have been synchronous and significant climatic changes across monsoonal China and strong teleconnections between the North Atlantic and East Asia regions during the period 20-10 ka. This is much different from the Holocene Optimum which shows a time shift of more than several thousands years from southeast coastal to inland China. It is likely that temperature change at northern high latitudes during glacial periods exerts stronger influence on the Asian summer monsoon relative to insolation and appears to be capable of perturbing large-scale atmospheric/oceanic circulation patterns in the Northern Hemisphere and thus monsoonal rainfall and paleovegetation in East Asia. Climatic signals in the North Atlantic region propagate rapidly to East Asia during glacial periods by influencing the winter land-sea temperature contrast in the East Asian monsoon region.     

晚新生代全球构造地貌与环境变化研究进展

介绍了晚新生代全球构造地貌与环境变化研究中的一些重要进展 ,这主要集中在大陆的构造隆升、板内造山带与大陆穹隆的形成、全球海平面变化、边缘海的“窗口”作用、水道的开启与关闭等方面。上述研究进展表明 ,地球各圈层的相互作用是塑造现今地球构造地貌格局和驱动全球环境变化的重要因素。从地球的整体行为出发 ,研究长时间尺度 (Ma)岩石圈结构变异与全球环境变化间的耦合反馈关系 ,是今后工作值得注意的一个方向。