Was the Antarctic glaciation delayed by a high degassing rate during the early Cenozoic?

Abstract

The Cenozoic is a period of major climatic changes marked by the formation of the Antarctic ice sheet at the Eocene/Oligocene (E/O) boundary. The opening of the southern ocean seaways and the decrease in atmospheric CO2 are two processes generally evoked to explain this E/O cooling. The debate is still ongoing but modeling studies tend to demonstrate that the decrease in atmospheric CO2 is the main driver of the cooling. However, uncertainties persist on what drove the decrease in atmospheric CO2 during the Cenozoic. In this study, we investigate the impact of continental drift, lithology distribution and volcanic degassing rates on the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration over the Cenozoic within a coupled climate-carbon model (GEOCLIM). In the model, the continental drift results in driving low atmospheric CO2 levels during the Eocene and the Oligocene. The dispersed configuration and the location of a large continental area (North Africa, northern South America) within the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) promote CO2 consumption by weathering, forcing CO2 to remain low. Icehouse conditions are also promoted by the drifting of India and the weathering of the Deccan basalts in the ITCZ during the Eocene, and by the weathering of the Ethiopian traps during the Oligocene. To prevent the building up of the Antarctic ice sheet at the Eocene, the model needs enhanced solid Earth degassing flux by 50% so that atmospheric CO2 levels stay above the glacial threshold (750ppm). We find that the decrease in atmospheric CO2 from the Eocene to the Oligocene is probably due to a reduction in the source of volcanic CO2 rather than an increase in silicate weathering. The model results furthermore suggest that during the Miocene period, the northward drifting of both the African plate and India (including the Deccan traps) might have decreased the continental surface exposed to chemical weathering, therefore generating higher CO2 values. Finally, the uplift of the Tibetan plateau from the Miocene to the present-day induces in the model an increase in silicate weathering through the intensification of the South-Eastern Asian monsoon, causing atmospheric CO2 to come back to a pre-industrial value.