Mid-Pleistocene climate transition triggered by Antarctic Ice Sheet growth

作者：Zhisheng An, Weijian Zhou, Zeke Zhang, Xu Zhang, Zhonghui Liu, Youbin Sun, Steven C. Clemens, Lixin Wu, Jiaju Zhao, Zhengguo Shi, Xiaolin Ma, Hong Yan, Gaojun Li, Yanjun Cai, Jimin Yu, Yuchen Sun, Siqi Li, Yuao Zhang, Christian Stepanek, Gerrit Lohmann, Guocheng Dong, Hai Cheng, Yu Liu, Zhangdong Jin, Tao Li, Yifei Hao, Jing Lei, Wenju Cai · 发表于：Science · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1126/science.abn4861 · 被引用次数：73 · 研究领域：Geology and Paleoclimatology Research、Cryospheric studies and observations、Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology

Despite extensive investigation, the nature and causes of the Mid-Pleistocene Transition remain enigmatic. In this work, we assess its linkage to asynchronous development of bipolar ice sheets by synthesizing Pleistocene mid- to high-latitude proxy records linked to hemispheric ice sheet evolution. Our results indicate substantial growth of the Antarctic Ice Sheets (AISs) at 2.0 to 1.25 million years ago, preceding the rapid expansion of Northern Hemisphere Ice Sheets after ~1.25 million years ago. Proxy-model comparisons suggest that AIS and associated Southern Ocean sea ice expansion can induce northern high-latitude cooling and enhanced moisture transport to the Northern Hemisphere, thus triggering the Mid-Pleistocene Transition. The dynamic processes involved are crucial for assessing modern global warming that is already inducing asynchronous bipolar melting of ice sheets.