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Ice-rafting from the British–Irish ice sheet since the earliest Pleistocene (2.6 million years ago): implications for long-term mid-latitudinal ice-sheet growth in the North Atlantic region

Ice-rafting from the British–Irish ice sheet since the earliest Pleistocene (2.6 million years ago): implications for long-term mid-latitudinal ice-sheet growth in the North Atlantic region
Ice-rafting from the British–Irish ice sheet since the earliest Pleistocene (2.6 million years ago): implications for long-term mid-latitudinal ice-sheet growth in the North Atlantic region
The Plio-Pleistocene intensification of Northern Hemisphere continental ice-sheet development is known to have profoundly affected the global climate system. Evidence for early continental glaciation is preserved in sediments throughout the North Atlantic Ocean, where ice-rafted detritus (IRD) layers attest to the calving of sediment-loaded icebergs from circum-Atlantic ice sheets. So far, Early-Pleistocene IRD deposition has been attributed to the presence of high-latitudinal ice sheets, whereas the existence and extent of ice accumulation in more temperate, mid-latitudinal regions remains enigmatic. Here we present results from the multiproxy provenance analysis of a unique, Pleistocene-Holocene IRD sequence from the Irish NE Atlantic continental margin. There, the Challenger coral carbonate mound (IODP Expedition 307 site U1317) preserved an Early-Pleistocene record of 16 distinctive IRD events, deposited between ca 2.6 and 1.7 Ma. Strong and complex IRD signals are also identified during the mid-Pleistocene climate transition (ca 1.2 to 0.65 Ma) and throughout the Middle-Late Pleistocene interval. Radiogenic isotope source-fingerprinting, in combination with coarse lithic component analysis, indicates a dominant sediment source in the nearby British–Irish Isles, even for the oldest, Early-Pleistocene IRD deposits. Hence, our findings demonstrate, for the first time, repeated and substantial (i.e. marine-terminating) ice accumulation on the British–Irish Isles since the beginning of the Pleistocene. Contemporaneous expansion of both high- and mid-latitudinal ice sheets in the North Atlantic region is therefore implied at the onset of the Pleistocene. Moreover, it suggests the recurrent establishment of (climatically) favourable conditions for ice sheet inception, growth and instability in mid-latitudinal regions, even in the earliest stages of Northern Hemisphere glacial expansion and in an obliquity-driven climate system.
0277-3791
229-240
Thierens, M.
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Pirlet, H.
882f41d9-5147-4eff-a39b-31f67f984c38
Colin, C.
de4915f4-e4d1-47b3-93cb-a58f3ac3dc6a
Latruwe, K.
9ab5096b-7ef6-4372-9eb1-f1e74ebf3f1d
Vanhaecke, F.
6c9d31d9-b698-433a-9ea6-35f9ea4dcc6a
Lee, J.R.
fcd08416-675f-48cc-b5ad-6010cbceae6e
Stuut, J.-B.
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Titschack, J.
8ee18c65-61a3-4504-967b-f9fcfc83004a
Huvenne, V.A.I.
f22be3e2-708c-491b-b985-a438470fa053
Dorschel, B.
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Wheeler, A.J.
17a38f47-d5cc-4bcb-b1a8-ddfb84851d99
Henriet, J.-P.
c2065e32-e628-4f6d-9a8e-ce67a06fa444
Thierens, M.
dace094e-5a50-4770-86ed-be84b266a0b2
Pirlet, H.
882f41d9-5147-4eff-a39b-31f67f984c38
Colin, C.
de4915f4-e4d1-47b3-93cb-a58f3ac3dc6a
Latruwe, K.
9ab5096b-7ef6-4372-9eb1-f1e74ebf3f1d
Vanhaecke, F.
6c9d31d9-b698-433a-9ea6-35f9ea4dcc6a
Lee, J.R.
fcd08416-675f-48cc-b5ad-6010cbceae6e
Stuut, J.-B.
810abfb9-22f8-4979-8ee8-f79534fd43b3
Titschack, J.
8ee18c65-61a3-4504-967b-f9fcfc83004a
Huvenne, V.A.I.
f22be3e2-708c-491b-b985-a438470fa053
Dorschel, B.
7e01530c-9162-4080-b06e-1d89cb4b9259
Wheeler, A.J.
17a38f47-d5cc-4bcb-b1a8-ddfb84851d99
Henriet, J.-P.
c2065e32-e628-4f6d-9a8e-ce67a06fa444

Thierens, M., Pirlet, H., Colin, C., Latruwe, K., Vanhaecke, F., Lee, J.R., Stuut, J.-B., Titschack, J., Huvenne, V.A.I., Dorschel, B., Wheeler, A.J. and Henriet, J.-P. (2012) Ice-rafting from the British–Irish ice sheet since the earliest Pleistocene (2.6 million years ago): implications for long-term mid-latitudinal ice-sheet growth in the North Atlantic region. Quaternary Science Reviews, 44, 229-240. (doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.12.020).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The Plio-Pleistocene intensification of Northern Hemisphere continental ice-sheet development is known to have profoundly affected the global climate system. Evidence for early continental glaciation is preserved in sediments throughout the North Atlantic Ocean, where ice-rafted detritus (IRD) layers attest to the calving of sediment-loaded icebergs from circum-Atlantic ice sheets. So far, Early-Pleistocene IRD deposition has been attributed to the presence of high-latitudinal ice sheets, whereas the existence and extent of ice accumulation in more temperate, mid-latitudinal regions remains enigmatic. Here we present results from the multiproxy provenance analysis of a unique, Pleistocene-Holocene IRD sequence from the Irish NE Atlantic continental margin. There, the Challenger coral carbonate mound (IODP Expedition 307 site U1317) preserved an Early-Pleistocene record of 16 distinctive IRD events, deposited between ca 2.6 and 1.7 Ma. Strong and complex IRD signals are also identified during the mid-Pleistocene climate transition (ca 1.2 to 0.65 Ma) and throughout the Middle-Late Pleistocene interval. Radiogenic isotope source-fingerprinting, in combination with coarse lithic component analysis, indicates a dominant sediment source in the nearby British–Irish Isles, even for the oldest, Early-Pleistocene IRD deposits. Hence, our findings demonstrate, for the first time, repeated and substantial (i.e. marine-terminating) ice accumulation on the British–Irish Isles since the beginning of the Pleistocene. Contemporaneous expansion of both high- and mid-latitudinal ice sheets in the North Atlantic region is therefore implied at the onset of the Pleistocene. Moreover, it suggests the recurrent establishment of (climatically) favourable conditions for ice sheet inception, growth and instability in mid-latitudinal regions, even in the earliest stages of Northern Hemisphere glacial expansion and in an obliquity-driven climate system.

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Published date: 21 June 2012
Organisations: Marine Geoscience

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Local EPrints ID: 343500
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/343500
ISSN: 0277-3791
PURE UUID: 78ab6a24-040e-4dec-850b-f12c7dc01e8f
ORCID for V.A.I. Huvenne: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-7135-6360

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Date deposited: 03 Oct 2012 12:36
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:19

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Contributors

Author: M. Thierens
Author: H. Pirlet
Author: C. Colin
Author: K. Latruwe
Author: F. Vanhaecke
Author: J.R. Lee
Author: J.-B. Stuut
Author: J. Titschack
Author: V.A.I. Huvenne ORCID iD
Author: B. Dorschel
Author: A.J. Wheeler
Author: J.-P. Henriet

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