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Constituency and origins of cyclic growth layers in pelecypod shells, part 1
Growth layers occurring in shells of 98 species of pelecypods were examined microscopically in thin section and as natural and etched surfaces. Study began with shells of eleven species known from life history investigations to have annual cycles of growth. Internal microstructural features of the annual layers in these shells provided criteria for recognition of similar, apparently annual shell increments in eighty-six of eighty-seven other species. All of the specimens feature growth laminae, commonly on the order of 50 microns in thickness. The specimens from shallow marine environments show either a clustering of growth laminae related to the formation of concentric ridges or minor growth bands on the external shell surface. Based on observations of the number of growth laminae and clusters per annual-growth layer, it was hypothesised that the subannual increments may be related to daily and fortnightly (and in some cases monthly) cycles in the environment. Possible applications of the paleogrowth method in the fields of paleoecology and paleoclimatology are discussed.
Hydrogeology of closed basins and deserts of South America, ERTS-1 interpretations
Images from the Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS-1) contain data useful in studies of hydrogeology, geomorphology, and paleoclimatology. Sixteen Return Beam Vidicon (RBV) images and 15 Multi-Spectral Scanner (MSS) images were studied. These covered deserts and semidesert areas in southwestern Bolivia, northwestern Argentina, northern Chile, and southeastern Peru from July 30 to November 17, 1972. During the first 3 months after launching, high-quality cloud-free imagery was obtained over approximately 90 percent of the region of interior drainage, or an area of 170,000 square miles.
Modeling glacial climates
Mathematical climate modelling has matured as a discipline to the point that it is useful in paleoclimatology. As an example a new two dimensional energy balance model is described and applied to several problems of current interest. The model includes the seasonal cycle and the detailed land-sea geographical distribution. By examining the changes in the seasonal cycle when external perturbations are forced upon the climate system it is possible to construct hypotheses about the origin of midlatitude ice sheets and polar ice caps. In particular the model predicts a rather sudden potential for glaciation over large areas when the Earth's orbital elements are only slightly altered. Similarly, the drift of continents or the change of atmospheric carbon dioxide over geological time induces radical changes in continental ice cover. With the advance of computer technology and improved understanding of the individual components of the climate system, these ideas will be tested in far more realistic models in the near future.
Regional magnetic anomaly constraints on continental rifting
Radially polarized MAGSAT anomalies of North and South America, Europe, Africa, India, Australia and Antarctica demonstrate remarkably detailed correlation of regional magnetic lithospheric sources across rifted margins when plotted on a reconstruction of Pangea. These major magnetic features apparently preserve their integrity until a superimposed metamorphoric event alters the magnitude and pattern of the anomalies. The longevity of continental scale magnetic anomalies contrasts markedly with that of regional gravity anomalies which tend to reflect predominantly isostatic adjustments associated with neo-tectonism. First observed as a result of NASA's magnetic satellite programs, these anomalies provide new and fundamental constraints on the geologic evolution and dynamics of the continents and oceans. Accordingly, satellite magnetic observations provide a further tool for investigating continental drift to compliment other lines of evidence in paleoclimatology, paleontology, paleomagnetism, and studies of the radiometric ages and geometric fit of the continents.
Workshop on Early Mars: How Warm and How Wet?, part 1
This volume contains papers that have been accepted for presentation at the Workshop on Early Mars: How Warm and How Wet?, 26-28 Jul. 1993, in Breckenridge, CO. The following topics are covered: the Martian water cycle; Martian paleoclimatology; CO2/CH4 atmosphere on early Mars; Noachian hydrology; early Martian environment; Martian weathering; nitrogen isotope ratios; CO2 evolution on Mars; and climate change.
Obliquity Modulation of the Incoming Solar Radiation
Based on a basic principle of orbital resonance, we have identified a huge deficit of solar radiation induced by the combined amplitude and frequency modulation of the Earth's obliquity as possibly the causal mechanism for ice age glaciation. Including this modulation effect on solar radiation, we have performed model simulations of climate change for the past 2 million years. Simulation results show that: (1) For the past 1 million years, temperature fluctuation cycles were dominated by a 100-Kyr period due to amplitude-frequency resonance effect of the obliquity; (2) From 2 to 1 million years ago, the amplitude-frequency interactions. of the obliquity were so weak that they were not able to stimulate a resonance effect on solar radiation; (3) Amplitude and frequency modulation analysis on solar radiation provides a series of resonance in the incoming solar radiation which may shift the glaciation cycles from 41-Kyr to 100-Kyr about 0.9 million years ago. These results are in good agreement with the marine and continental paleoclimate records. Thus, the proposed climate response to the combined amplitude and frequency modulation of the Earth's obliquity may be the key to understanding the glaciation puzzles in paleoclimatology.
A Double Bootstrap Approach to Superposed Epoch Analysis to Evaluate Response Uncertainty
The association between climate variability and episodic events, such as the antecedent moisture conditions prior to wildfire or the cooling following volcanic eruptions, is commonly assessed using Superposed Epoch Analysis (SEA). In SEA the epochal response is typically calculated as the average climate conditions prior to and following all event years or their deviation from climatology. However, the magnitude and significance of the inferred climate association may be sensitive to the selection or omission of individual key years, potentially resulting in a biased assessment of the relationship between these events and climate. Here we describe and test a modified double-bootstrap SEA that generates multiple unique draws of the key years and evaluates the sign, magnitude, and significance of event-climate relationships within a probabilistic framework. This multiple resampling helps quantify multiple uncertainties inherent in conventional applications of SEA within dendrochronology and paleoclimatology. We demonstrate our modified SEA by evaluating the volcanic cooling signal in a Northern Hemisphere tree-ring temperature reconstruction and the link between drought and wildfire events in the western United States. Finally, we make our Matlab and R code available to be adapted for future SEA applications.
The PMIP4 Contribution to CMIP6 - Part 1: Overview and Over-Arching Analysis Plan
This paper is the first of a series of four GMD (Geoscientific Model Development) papers on the PMIP4-CMIP6 (Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project - Phase 4 -- Coupled Model Intercomparison Project - Phase 6) experiments. Part 2 (Otto-Bliesner et al., 2017) gives details about the two PMIP4-CMIP6 interglacial experiments, Part 3 (Jungclaus et al., 2017) about the last millennium experiment, and Part 4 (Kageyama et al., 2017) about the Last Glacial Maximum experiment. The mid-Pliocene Warm Period experiment is part of the Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project (PlioMIP) - Phase 2, detailed in Haywood et al. (2016). The goal of the Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project (PMIP) is to understand the response of the climate system to different climate forcings for documented climatic states very different from the present and historical climates. Through comparison with observations of the environmental impact of these climate changes, or with climate reconstructions based on physical, chemical, or biological records, PMIP also addresses the issue of how well state-of-the-art numerical models simulate climate change. Climate models are usually developed using the present and historical climates as references, but climate projections show that future climates will lie well outside these conditions. Palaeoclimates very different from these reference states therefore provide stringent tests for state-of-the-art models and a way to assess whether their sensitivity to forcings is compatible with palaeoclimatic evidence. Simulations of five different periods have been designed to address the objectives of the sixth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6): the millennium prior to the industrial epoch (CMIP6 name: past1000); the mid-Holocene, 6000 years ago (midHolocene); the Last Glacial Maximum, 21,000 years ago (lgm); the Last Interglacial, 127,000 years ago (lig127k); and the mid-Pliocene Warm Period, 3.2 million years ago (midPliocene-eoi400). These climatic periods are well documented by palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental records, with climate and environmental changes relevant for the study and projection of future climate changes. This paper describes the motivation for the choice of these periods and the design of the numerical experiments and database requests, with a focus on their novel features compared to the experiments performed in previous phases of PMIP and CMIP. It also outlines the analysis plan that takes advantage of the comparisons of the results across periods and across CMIP6 in collaboration with other MIPs.
A New Glacial Varve Chronology Along the Southern Laurentide Ice Sheet That Spans the Younger Dryas–Holocene Boundary
Glacial varves can detail ice-margin positions and provide a proxy for meltwater discharge at resolutions comparable to those of the Greenland ice core archives, and thus they can be critical paleorecords for assessing the response of both ancient and modern ice sheets to climate change. Here we provide an ~1500 yr varve chronology straddling the Younger Dryas (YD)–Holocene boundary (11.65 cal. kyr B.P.), the first such chronology in North America. The varves are from glacial Lake Agassiz (central North America). The chronology is pinned on accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon-dated terrestrial macrofossils at the base of a widespread red-clay bed deposited during flooding from the Lake Superior basin. We illustrate the utility of this record by examining ice-margin retreat and melting through the late Younger Dryas and across the Holocene boundary. The ice margin receded at a constant rate, not only during the late YD, but for at least 300 yr after the onset of the Holocene. In contrast, varve thicknesses increased at the boundary, and a moraine formed over a 50 yr period, perhaps in response to the warming climate. Our expectation is that this time series will continue to be developed, expanded, and refined because it promises to be the longest and most geographically extensive glacial varve data set in North America.