Late Pliocene equatorial Pacific

Abstract

[1] Late Pliocene foraminiferal Mg/Ca and δ18O records from Ocean Drilling Program Hole 806B in the western equatorial Pacific (WEP) reveal warm pool climate evolution during the onset of Northern Hemisphere glaciation, 3.1–2.3 Myr B.P. Mg/Ca data indicate an average late Pliocene sea surface temperature (SST) of 27.8°C, a small long-term cooling of 0.3°C between 3.1 and 2.3 Ma, and a glacial-interglacial (G-I) SST range of 2°C throughout this time interval. For comparison, Pleistocene SSTs at this site over the last 0.9 Myr average 27.7°C with a G-I range of 3°C. Orbital-scale variability in Hole 806B SSTs during the late Pliocene occurs predominantly at ∼100 ka, in contrast to foraminiferal δ18O records, which show a dominant 41 kyr period. Variability at a 41 kyr period, out of phase with local annual insolation changes driven by obliquity, is also observed in the new WEP SST record. The WEP SST record suggests that an ∼3°C equatorial Pacific SST zonal gradient prevailed during the late Pliocene, compatible with a weaker Walker circulation. Adjustment of Hole 806B SSTs for past changes in seawater Mg/Ca suggests that SSTs higher than 30°C prevailed at 3 Myr B.P., followed by a progressive cooling of the warm pool through the late Pliocene. The characteristics of late Pliocene tropical climate evolution suggest that atmospheric greenhouse gas forcing played a major role in driving the observed G-I SST changes.