Mio-Pliocene aridity in the south-central Andes associated with Southern Hemisphere cold periods

Although Earth's climate history is best known through marine records, the corresponding continental climatic conditions drive the evolution of terrestrial life. Continental conditions during the latest Miocene are of particular interest because global faunal turnover is roughly synchronous wit...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal: Ciccioli, Patricia Lucía
Publicado: 2017
Materias:
M2
Acceso en línea:https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_00278424_v114_n25_p6475_Amidon
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00278424_v114_n25_p6475_Amidon
Aporte de:
id paper:paper_00278424_v114_n25_p6475_Amidon
record_format dspace
spelling paper:paper_00278424_v114_n25_p6475_Amidon2023-06-08T14:54:33Z Mio-Pliocene aridity in the south-central Andes associated with Southern Hemisphere cold periods Ciccioli, Patricia Lucía M2 Messinian Miocene Pliocene Precipitation carbon water Article cold environmental erosion glacial period latitude mass extinction Miocene Pliocene precipitation priority journal salinity sea surface temperature South America Southern Hemisphere vegetation watershed Although Earth's climate history is best known through marine records, the corresponding continental climatic conditions drive the evolution of terrestrial life. Continental conditions during the latest Miocene are of particular interest because global faunal turnover is roughly synchronous with a period of global glaciation from 6.2-5.5 Ma and with the Messinian Salinity Crisis from 6.0-5.3 Ma. Despite the climatic and ecological significance of this period, the continental climatic conditions associated with it remain unclear. We address this question using erosion rates of ancient watersheds to constrain Mio-Pliocene climatic conditions in the south-central Andes near 30° S. Our results show two slowdowns in erosion rate, one from 6.1-5.2 Ma and another from 3.6 to 3.3 Ma, which we attribute to periods of continental aridity. This view is supported by synchrony with other regional proxies for aridity and with the timing of glacial "cold" periods as recorded by marine proxies, such as the M2 isotope excursion. We thus conclude that aridity in the south-central Andes is associated with cold periods at high southern latitudes, perhaps due to a northward migration of the Southern Hemisphere westerlies, which disrupted the South American Low Level Jet that delivers moisture to southeastern South America. Colder glacial periods, and possibly associated reductions in atmospheric CO2, thus seem to be an important driver of Mio-Pliocene ecological transitions in the central Andes. Finally, this study demonstrates that paleo-erosion rates can be a powerful proxy for ancient continental climates that lie beyond the reach of most lacustrine and glacial archives. Fil:Ciccioli, P.L. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. 2017 https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_00278424_v114_n25_p6475_Amidon http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00278424_v114_n25_p6475_Amidon
institution Universidad de Buenos Aires
institution_str I-28
repository_str R-134
collection Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA)
topic M2
Messinian
Miocene
Pliocene
Precipitation
carbon
water
Article
cold
environmental erosion
glacial period
latitude
mass extinction
Miocene
Pliocene
precipitation
priority journal
salinity
sea surface temperature
South America
Southern Hemisphere
vegetation
watershed
spellingShingle M2
Messinian
Miocene
Pliocene
Precipitation
carbon
water
Article
cold
environmental erosion
glacial period
latitude
mass extinction
Miocene
Pliocene
precipitation
priority journal
salinity
sea surface temperature
South America
Southern Hemisphere
vegetation
watershed
Ciccioli, Patricia Lucía
Mio-Pliocene aridity in the south-central Andes associated with Southern Hemisphere cold periods
topic_facet M2
Messinian
Miocene
Pliocene
Precipitation
carbon
water
Article
cold
environmental erosion
glacial period
latitude
mass extinction
Miocene
Pliocene
precipitation
priority journal
salinity
sea surface temperature
South America
Southern Hemisphere
vegetation
watershed
description Although Earth's climate history is best known through marine records, the corresponding continental climatic conditions drive the evolution of terrestrial life. Continental conditions during the latest Miocene are of particular interest because global faunal turnover is roughly synchronous with a period of global glaciation from 6.2-5.5 Ma and with the Messinian Salinity Crisis from 6.0-5.3 Ma. Despite the climatic and ecological significance of this period, the continental climatic conditions associated with it remain unclear. We address this question using erosion rates of ancient watersheds to constrain Mio-Pliocene climatic conditions in the south-central Andes near 30° S. Our results show two slowdowns in erosion rate, one from 6.1-5.2 Ma and another from 3.6 to 3.3 Ma, which we attribute to periods of continental aridity. This view is supported by synchrony with other regional proxies for aridity and with the timing of glacial "cold" periods as recorded by marine proxies, such as the M2 isotope excursion. We thus conclude that aridity in the south-central Andes is associated with cold periods at high southern latitudes, perhaps due to a northward migration of the Southern Hemisphere westerlies, which disrupted the South American Low Level Jet that delivers moisture to southeastern South America. Colder glacial periods, and possibly associated reductions in atmospheric CO2, thus seem to be an important driver of Mio-Pliocene ecological transitions in the central Andes. Finally, this study demonstrates that paleo-erosion rates can be a powerful proxy for ancient continental climates that lie beyond the reach of most lacustrine and glacial archives.
author Ciccioli, Patricia Lucía
author_facet Ciccioli, Patricia Lucía
author_sort Ciccioli, Patricia Lucía
title Mio-Pliocene aridity in the south-central Andes associated with Southern Hemisphere cold periods
title_short Mio-Pliocene aridity in the south-central Andes associated with Southern Hemisphere cold periods
title_full Mio-Pliocene aridity in the south-central Andes associated with Southern Hemisphere cold periods
title_fullStr Mio-Pliocene aridity in the south-central Andes associated with Southern Hemisphere cold periods
title_full_unstemmed Mio-Pliocene aridity in the south-central Andes associated with Southern Hemisphere cold periods
title_sort mio-pliocene aridity in the south-central andes associated with southern hemisphere cold periods
publishDate 2017
url https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_00278424_v114_n25_p6475_Amidon
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00278424_v114_n25_p6475_Amidon
work_keys_str_mv AT cicciolipatricialucia miopliocenearidityinthesouthcentralandesassociatedwithsouthernhemispherecoldperiods
_version_ 1768545962108649472